


The Only Thing That Stays The Same

by Guardian_of_Hope



Series: Reconstruction [7]
Category: Leverage, Power Rangers Mega Force, Power Rangers Turbo, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Crossover, F/F, F/M, Family, Friendship, M/M, Pack, Pack Dynamics, SPD is bad, action adventure, canon character death, witches-freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-25
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-16 23:45:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 43,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1366138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It started with the death of Allison Argent. It was one day, just a funeral.  Too bad Beacon Hills had other plans for Troy Burrows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> For reasons, I decided to watch Teen Wolf, and I marathoned all everything over a single weekend. Then I watched Insatiable and spent two days trying to figure out how to fix it. Then I spent five writing this chapter in stages. I kept emailing my friend all these ideas I had, and that's why things are the way they are.
> 
> This is my first Teen Wolf story, and my first Mega Force story.
> 
> Justin is based off my Rainbow Brotherhood universe (where he is a bitter, lonely man dealing with far too many issues.)

Victory was assured, another of the enemy’s plots foiled, and Troy was getting special entertainment in Jake’s newest attempt to impress Gia.  He smiled to himself as he watched them, they reminded him of…

Noah stumbled into him, and they both crashed onto the sidewalk knocking the memory out of his thoughts.  “Geez,” Troy wheezed, because there were some things you couldn’t be prepared for, and he really didn’t need to trigger another panic attack today.

“Sorry,” Noah said, “I’m sorry, are you okay?”  He rolled off Troy and scrambled to his feet.

Troy shook his head and picked himself back up, “I just bumped a bruise,” he said.  “I wasn’t expecting it.”

“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you react to pain,” Emma said, falling in on his other side.

Troy shook his head, “I’ve had experience with pain.”  He caught Emma’s horrified expression and shook his head, “Not like that, Emma.  I played lacrosse at my old school.  It’s like football with hockey sticks when things get rough.”  He touched his elbow with a fond smile.  The scar probably wasn’t visible under the shirt, but he had scored the winning goal with one hand covered in blood, hidden by a red jersey until it ran over his fingers.

“Lacrosse?”  Jake scoffed, “That’s not a real sport.”

Troy spun around and gripped Jake’s arm tightly.  Something in the back of his mind was screaming, but the words came out, in perfect imitation of his best friend’s sneer.  “Just because your team’s shit and probably should be disbanded doesn’t mean you have _any_ clue what the game’s really about.  You play a game that’s all about kicking a ball.”

Hurt flashed in Jake’s eyes and Troy caught himself, “I am so sorry,” he said, letting go of Jake’s arm.  “I shouldn’t have said that.”  He took a deep breath, “My old school was crazy for lacrosse.  We were all state for four years, actually.  Coach almost cried when my parents decided to move.”

“You never did say why you moved,” Gia said.

Troy hesitated, remembering all the strange and sometimes wonderful things he’d seen back ho- in his old town.  He also remembered the bad.  The number of times he’d seen blood and cleaned wounds, and the times his own blood had been spilt.  He remembered the number of casual and not so casual comments about the fragility of human skin, and the laughter that followed yet another punch.

“Where are you from anyways?”  Jake said, “We fight for the world every day and sometimes I feel like I don’t really know you.”

“I’m from Beacon Hills,” Troy said, startled out of his thoughts.  “It’s further inland, in the heart of a huge nature preserve.”

“Sounds nice,” Emma said.

“It could be nice,” Troy replied.  He looked up and frowned.  There were to motorcycles parked on the side of the road at a gas station.  The riders were nowhere in sight, but Troy still felt a nagging sense of familiarity.

“What?”  Gia asked.

“I’ve seen those bikes…”  Troy began, looking at the gas station itself.

It was like one of his night terrors.  From their blond hair to combat boots with leather in between, Troy had never wanted to see the identical nightmares from the Alpha Pack ever again.  “Troy,” Gia said.

He was breathing to fast, his mind flashing through memories he buried until dark, and the night terrors began.

“Troy Burrows,” one of the twins says.

Something in him snapped and Troy could breathe again.  He looked down at his red shirt, reminded that he was no longer a half-trained student, an easy target for the monsters.  He turned to Gia, knowing he can trust her best to do what was necessary.  “Stay here,” he said.  “Keep them here.  Don’t interfere until I signal.”

“Right,” Gia said after a moment of studying him.  He wondered what she saw in his face, but knew it didn’t matter now.

Troy turned and started for the twins, keeping his hands steady and ignoring the heavy thumps of his heart.  The twins would know he was afraid, but Troy knew that would come in handy soon enough.  “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here,” he told them.

“Scott sent us,” one of the twins said, holding up his hands.  “We don’t want any trouble.”

Troy stared at him, baffled and amused.  “What, no white flag?”

“We just need to give you something, from Scott.  It’s important,” the other twin said.

“And you expect me to believe you after last time?”  Troy replied as he shifted slightly.  He was going to get a small revenge today, no matter what.

“We’re just here to give you a letter,” the other twin said.  “Danny said that your parents were censoring your mail?”

“Something like that,” Troy said even as he stalked closer.  “There’s just one problem.”  He was close enough.

“What’s that?”  The first twin asked, looking nervous.

Troy punched him solidly in the gut then spun to land a right hook on the other twin before finishing with a roundhouse kick to the first twin.  When the twins were on the ground and staring up at him in shock.  Troy knelt down and held out his hand, “Letter?”

One of the twins drew the letter out of his jacket and handed it over with a shaking hand.

“You’re not,” the other began.

“Like you?”  Troy asked as he tucked the letter away.  He wasn’t going to chance that his teammates had decided to come closer after that little display.  “There’s not a chance I could be like you.  I also still don’t believe you.”

“Look, call Scott,” one of the twins said, “Read the note and call Scott.  He’ll tell you if it’s true or not.”

Troy stared at the twins for a long moment, “I just might,” he said.  “You two need to get what you need and leave.  Harwood County is a you-free zone.”  He shuddered, suddenly picturing one of their enemies getting their hands on the twins.  While he didn’t mind picturing the sort of tortures the twins deserved, he knew that if it really happened, he’d try to help them get away.  Under his breath, which he knew they would hear, he murmured, “Nothing but humans should be here.  It could be very bad.”  If Scott or the Pack showed up, then he’d know if he could trust the twins.

“We will,” one of the twins said as he began to carefully pick himself up.

“Tell Scott the next time he needs to send a Twilight Bark, he should send someone else,” Troy said, “ _anyone else._ ”  He paused for a moment, “Except Peter Hale.”  Actually, He wouldn’t mind seeing that creepy bastard go a few rounds with the Warstar Empire.  It might actually be educational.

“No one else could have come,” the other twin said.  “Not right now.”

“Excuse me,” an older voice said, “but you three need to move on.”

Troy turned to find a city cop watching them.  “Yes sir,” he said simply.  “I’m just leaving.”  He turned back to the twins, “Tell Danny I said hi, and I swear to God if you hurt him, I have no problem getting a just revenge.”

“I won’t,” one of the twins replied firmly.

“Look, I get why you left,” the other one said, “why your parents took you away, but Troy, we might need you.”

“You aren’t the only ones,” Troy muttered and turned around, “Thanks for the letter,” he called over his shoulder.

Gia and the others were still standing on the sidewalk, when Troy reached them, Emma hugged him tightly.  Troy wrapped an arm around his friend, closing his eyes letting the teasing sent of gardenias soothe him.

“You look terrible,” Jake said.  Troy risked a peek, but Jake looked concerned.  It was probably the first time Troy had seen that look pointed at him.  Jake usually saved his more advanced emoting for Gia or Noah.

“Get me out of here,” Troy said.

Emma gripped his hand and pulled him away from the gas station.  They were far enough away that he could barely hear it when the twins finally got around to starting their bikes.

“What was that all about?”  Noah asked.

Troy glanced over his shoulder, “Those two were involved in some of the worst days of my life,” he said quietly.  “It’s partly their fault my parents decided they _had_ to move out of Beacon Hills, not to mention they were involved in the death of one of my friends.”

“And they’re walking around free?”  Jake said, “Shouldn’t they be in jail?”

“You’d have to take that up with someone else,” Troy said harshly, remembering the look on their faces when he’d woken up that day.  “I think they ought to be locked up with the key melted down and remade.”

“Are you sure you’re ok?”  Emma asked as she slid her arm through his.  “You looked really shaken when you saw them.”

Troy bit his lip and stared ahead of them for a long moment.  “Part of the reason they got off easy after everything is because they’re only sixteen,” he said.  “Their parents aren’t in the picture and haven’t been for a long time.  They went through group and foster homes until they got tired of being separated.  Then they ran away.  I think they were like eleven.  They were lured into, into a gang and that’s when the trouble started, I guess.  They left that gang for this other group, and what little I know is that they were loyal out of a sense of debt to the one who got them out of their gang, and intimidation.”

“That sounds awful,” Emma whispered.

“If they hadn’t come to Beacon Hills,” Troy muttered.  Then he took another deep breath, “They came because the leader wanting something from this guy named Derek Hale, and I’ll tell you Derek Hale’s story at some point, but not today.  I don’t know what they wanted, but I know part of their plan was to go through some of Derek’s friends who were still in high school.  They wanted these two, Scott McCall and his best friend Stiles.”

“Stiles?”  Jake asked.

“Don’t ask,” Troy said, rolling his eyes.  “Scott had this whole clique, with Stiles, Alison, and Lydia, and they mixed it up with Derek’s friends, Isaac, Boyd, and Erica.  Then there was Danny and I.  Before this whole thing started, our other best friend Jackson had been in some trouble, which dragged Danny and me, although mostly me, into their drama as outliers.  His dad moved Jackson to London after all of that, before this thing went down.  The twins, being sixteen, were enrolled into the high school to get close to Scott.  They picked two people to target as being possibly part of their group.  They picked Lydia and Danny.  I guess they thought Danny was the easier target for Ethan than me, I don’t know.”

“Why would they go for Danny?”  Noah asked.

“Because he’s gay,” Troy said with a shrug.  “Most everybody knows that, it’s like the top ten things you learn on your first day.  Me being bi is barely a blip on most people’s radar for the most part.  The kink in their plan was me, because Danny and I have been flirting for years and we were kind of talking about trying for more.  That is, before the twins knocked me out and dragged me off to get me out of the way so that they could get to Danny.”

“They kidnapped you?”  Gia said.

“I think that was actually Ennis and Kali, but I know it was their suggestion,” Troy said after a long moment.  “I just know that they had me captive in a room with a chemical toilet for weeks.  I could hear things sometimes.  They didn’t seem to use where I was as anything more that a part time base, but what I heard.”  He stopped walking and looked down at Emma’s arm, still entwined with his own.  It was enough to anchor him.  A second hand on his arm was Gia, who gave him a reassuring smile.  “They kept talking about killing me,” he said finally.  “That they needed me so that they could kill me later.  There were screams too.”  He shuddered, “I have nightmares about it, and night terrors.”

“That’s awful,” Emma breathed.

“That’s why I don’t trust the twins,” Troy said.  “I’m not sure what their full sentence was, but as long as they keep their nose clean until they’re twenty-one, they’re on probation.  They were coerced into doing what they did.”

“They won with that kind of excuse?”  Jake said.

“Duke what’s his face killed one of their own, a guy named Ennis.  No one’s sure why.  He supposedly has a kill list of people, family and friends, associates, random people.  It goes back a dozen years and all over the West Coast.”  Troy replied with a shrug.

“What happened to the rest of the group?”  Noah asked.

“Kali is dead,” Troy said, “as well as Ennis, but  Duke whatever his name is vanished.  Sometimes I wish I was brave enough to ask Derek if he’ll ever bother us again, but I didn’t.”  He looked at his team, his friends and mustered up a smile, “And that’s why my parents moved from Beacon Hills to Harwood County.  I don’t know if we’ll have a lot of time at the mall if we don’t really get moving.”

They hurried down the road together and after a few minutes of thinking about Beacon Hills, Troy glanced up at his friends.  He was startled to realize that Emma was still walking on his left with their arms linked, and Gia was walking on his right like she did it every day.  Noah had moved to the front of the group, setting the pace and leading, while Jake trailed behind them silently.  He’d seen his friends back in Beacon Hills walk this way, protecting him, Styles, Lydia, or Alison or even when one of the others had needed it; it shifted something in him and he could feel himself relaxing.  It wasn’t quite the same feeling as his friends, his _Pack_ back in Beacon Hills, but the potential was definitely there.

They did reach Ernie’s with time to spare and after they ordered, Troy remembered the letter the twins had given him.  He pulled it out and stared at the plain white envelope.  “So why did they bring that anyways?”  Jake asked.

“My parents think I’ll heal from what happen if I avoid reminders of it,” Troy said.  “They’ve banned me from contacting anyone from Beacon Hills.  You’ve all noticed I don’t carry a cell phone, and that’s part of it.  I mean, I still have ways to contact them, I send Danny a post card twice a week if nothing else, but my parents want me to start fresh.  They made it very clear right before we left that they don’t want my friends to try to contact me for a while so that I can, quote unquote, recover from my ordeal.  My dad is a computer programmer and a bit of a hacker, I’m not surprised if he checks my email for signs of contact.”

“That’s wrong,” Jake said, “I couldn’t imagine if my mom made me cut off all contact to Noah.”

“I couldn’t either,” Noah said.  He looked down, but Jake reached over and squeezed his arm.

“They couldn’t do it,” Emma said as she leaned into Gia.  “There’s not a chance.”

“Which is why I send Danny post cards,” Troy replied.  “We hadn’t figured out how he could write me back, though.”  He opened the envelope and pulled out two pieces of paper.  “Whatever went down, it must have been really bad for them to send this.”  The first piece Troy looked at only had lines of neatly typed letters and numbers.

“That’s a code,” Noah said, pushing his glasses up and leaning over for a closer look.

“Yup,” Troy replied.  “And I know the key.”  He turned to the second, a letter.

_Troy_

_I’m sorry that you have to hear this in this way, and I’m sorry that the twins were my only choice in sending you this letter.  The enclosed paper has the full story, but the short version is that what we went through had consequences.  I hate that your parents took you from us, but at the same time, I am glad you weren’t here for this._

_There’s something you need to know; Allison Argent died last week.  As I said, all the details are on the other page, but I will say that she died for what she believed were the right reasons, and she was at peace when she went._

_The Sherriff is releasing Allison to Mr. Argent and the funeral will be on Saturday.  We’d really appreciate it if you would come.  If you come, you should know that the trouble isn’t quite over; we still need to deal with the events leading up to Allison’s death.  We’ll do what we can to keep you out of it if that’s what you want._

_Scott McCall_

 

Troy must have read the letter four times before he became aware of anything else, and even then, it was Jake waving his hand in his face.  “What?”  Tory asked.

“You’re white as a ghost,” Emma said, “what’s wrong.”

Troy dropped the letter like he’d been burned and shoved it at Gia.  She looked at him for a long moment then took the letter and began to read it.  Troy buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking as he fought to keep from crying.  He liked Allison as a friend.  Unlike Scott and Isaac, while he could admit Allison was beautiful, he’d more admired her skill as a fighter.  He’d known her from school at first, they’d worked on a math workshop together, and sometimes he’d be caught in Hurricane Lydia, and had spent time with Allison in social events.

Then the club had happened, and he’d learned one of his best friends could literally turn into a mutant killer lizard.  After that, Allison and her dad had trained him off and on in their fighting skills.  Mr. Argent, and Gerard had both made some comments about teaching him to become a hunter but Troy had been noncommittal.  Stopping the Kanima had been one thing, but he didn’t want to think about hunting two kids he’d played lacrosse with at school.

When the Kanima was stopped, and Jackson left for London, and Allison and her dad for Paris, Troy had kept practicing.  He didn’t want to be a Hunter; he wanted to help save people, like stopping the Kanima.

Derek had offered him the bite, and Troy had honestly considered it.  After he’d seen the trouble Scott went through with his mom and he knew his own parents would have been worse, Troy had told Derek if the offer were open when he was of age, he would consider it.

“Troy?”  Emma said as she shook his arm.

“I’m going,” Troy said, looking at his team.

“Troy, you can’t,” Gia began.

“I am going,” Troy interrupted her.

“Listen to me,” Gia said, “you can’t go alone.  Beacon Hills is two hours away; we can drive there and back in a day, easily.”

“You can’t,” Troy said.  “I’m going to be sneaking out as it is.”

“Then we’ll all sneak out,” Jake said, “but you can’t go back there alone.  Not when you’re clearly not over what happened.”

Troy stared at his friends and wondered at how he’d gotten so lucky, twice.

 

***

“All right,” Maya said as she came out of the Moran’s house.  “Everybody got everything?”

Troy slid his duffle into the back of the SUV and tried to look relaxed, if not happy, “I’m set,” he said.

Maya opened the driver’s side door.  “Then let’s get this show on the road.”

“Have fun,” his mom said.  “Don’t give Maya any trouble, Troy.”

“I won’t,” Troy said, he glanced over his shoulder to see Noah and Jake scrambling into the SUV while Emma watched them.  “I promise Mom.”

“I remember the last time,” his mom said, trailing off with a little wince.

“No offense, Mrs. Burrows,” Maya said, “but I’m doing this to get a tan and we’re wasting sunlight.”

His mom laughed, “All right Maya, and feel free to call me Karen, all of you.”  She pulled Troy into a hug, “I’m glad you made friends,” she whispered in his ear.

“Me too,” Troy replied.  He freed himself from the hug and hurried to join the others in the SUV.  He found himself in the front passenger seat, with Gia and Emma in the middle and Jake and Noah in the very back.

Maya glanced up, “Seat belts on everyone.  We’re not leaving until everyone’s buckled up.”

Troy fastened his seat belt as the SUV roared to life.  They pulled out under his mom’s watchful eye and then they were gone.  Troy watched out the window as they headed for the highway.  He turned to Maya, “Thank you for doing this, Maya.”

“Troy, you’re the only person I know who would use a trip to a water park to cover a trip to a funeral,” Maya said.  “Between that and the fact that I get to see Remy just makes my day.”

“It’s not just any funeral,” Troy said, “its Allison.  Of all the people I’ve lost in the past two years, she’s one of the ones that affected all of us.  I mean, yeah, I was friends with Erica and Boyd, but Allison is _Allison._   She linked Scott and Stiles to Jackson, Danny, and I through her friendship with Jackson and Lydia.  Isaac’s crush on her made the link to Derek, Boyd, and Erica.  There are other ties and new ties if the twins are involved, but Allison was important.”

Troy stared out the window, wondering how the dynamics were changing.  Scott and Stiles had each other, they had always had that, but with Jackson and Troy gone, Danny was alone.  He had other friends, and the lacrosse team, but none of them had been there when Danny had freaked out about being gay, or knew why he had the scar shaped like an arrow, or why there was a strip of skin on the small of his back that never tanned.  With Jackson and Troy gone, Danny would welcome the attention from the gay twin.  And Derek would be alone, since Isaac had joined Scott’s pack.  In fact, Troy would lay odds that Isaac’s allegiance had switched around the first time Scott’s eyes had turned red.  That meant Derek would be spending his time with Cora and Peter, and Troy wasn’t sure that was wise because Cora _had_ been a prisoner of war and Peter was a sociopath or something worse.

He became aware of Maya speaking, “I’m sorry,” he said, turning to her, “I was lost in thought.”

Maya smiled at him, “It’s okay,” she said.  “I was just asking about your friends, they seem pretty scattered.”

“Well, Scott, Stiles, Danny, Jackson, and I played lacrosse together,” Troy said.  “Danny and I have been best friends since we were toddlers, and Jackson joined us when we were about ten.  There was a summer lacrosse camp and we were a part of a team with some kids from out of town.  Scott and Stiles were benchwarmers, but everyone knows Stiles.  He has ADHD and I’m pretty sure he’s addicted to Adderall, but don’t quote me on that.  He’s very loud and very much a spazz, but he has genius level intelligence I think.  If you know Stiles, you know Scott.  They’re like brothers.  Jackson dated Lydia and she tolerates the rest of us, mostly.”

“She tolerates you?”  Emma asked, leaning up a bit.

“Well,” Troy said slowly, “it’s become something of an open secret that if Stiles is a genius, then Lydia is smarter than him.  She just doesn’t admit it; she likes to put up a front that all that’s important to her is shopping and boys.  I think the disconnect is that she’s so smart that we all seem slower than Christmas.  She’s getting better about it, but if you meet her, don’t take her personally.”

“What about the others?  You mentioned a Derek?”  Gia said.

“Derek Hale,” Troy agreed, “he’s the outlier to the equation.  He’s twenty-four and he’s kind of a mentor and kind of a royal douche, and he once spent several weeks wanted for murder.  His only family is his sister Cora and his uncle Peter.  He’s another one to be careful about.  Nobody likes Peter, or trusts him.  He’s very creepy on a good day.  I don’t think he’s got the balls to go to the funeral, Mister Argent would probably kill him on principle.”

“How did you end up hanging out with a twenty-four year old?”  Maya asked.

“I think Derek asks himself that every day,” Troy replied, “usually several times a day.”  He sorted through his options before going with, “It was sophomore year that it started.  Derek came back to Beacon Hill, Scott made first line, and there was a killer on the loose.  I don’t know the full story, but something happened and Derek started hanging around to keep an eye on Scott and Styles.  I think it was because they knew something about the killer and Derek wanted to know what since the first victim was his sister Laura.  Well, Derek ran into Jackson a few times looking for Scott, who was chasing after Allison like a dog with a bone.  Jackson thought Derek was creepy, but he got obsessed over the guy after getting slammed into a couple of lockers.  Me and Danny though Jackson was crazy to go after him, but Jackson does what Jackson does, and that put us on the edge of that.”

“But that doesn’t,” Jake began.

“That’s when things changed,” Troy interrupted him, “Jackson was acting weird, Scott was mad at the world, and especially Derek.  Stiles was taking more Adderall than usual, and douche bag number three dumped Danny.  I dragged Danny out to a club and we were attacked, well, the whole club was.”  He clenched a fist for a moment, “Someone released a hallucinogen in the air and then started stabbing people with a weird paralyzing agent.  I _know_ it was a human, but at the time, I thought it was a giant, mutant lizard.  Danny got hit, but not me.  I might have been, but the bartender came flying over the bar with a baseball bat and a leather jacket and drove the thing off.”

And hadn’t that been one of the weirdest sights ever.  Justin had put the lid of a trashcan around his neck to protect that spot, wrapped a leather jacket around on fist and gripped his bat like it was so much more.  He’d held the thing off a few people for a while and then it had run off again.  Troy had followed Justin, and they had both seen the Kanima become Jackson.  Scott and Stiles hadn’t noticed them, but Derek had.

Derek had offered them both the bite, but Troy had turned him down.  His parents would never have tolerated some of the shit Scott and Jackson had pulled, he’d had been on house arrest on his way to military school within a week.  He _had_ told Derek that when he turned eighteen, or if there was a true emergency, that he would seriously reconsidered.

Justin had apparently had a long conversation with Scott and the other Betas before saying yes to Derek.

Sometimes Troy wondered how different life would have been if Justin Stewart had not leaped over the bar to attack the giant lizard.  He knew that at least one death had been prevented by Justin’s presence, and there might have been more he wasn’t aware of.

“What happened after that?”  Maya asked.

“Well, Derek finally made a friend his age,” Troy said, “the man’s name is Justin and he does something with computers.  He’s got money, but you wouldn’t know it to see him.  He _says_ he’s moderately wealthy, but Isaac told me he owns the most expensive car in the world, _and_ the most expensive suit.  I’ve seen the suit, but not the car.  Isaac is a kid Derek took under his wing.  His dad was abusive, and after he died, Derek sort of mentored Isaac.  Then Justin got in the picture and made some phone calls and suddenly Isaac is his foster son.”

“Must be nice to know a rich guy,” Jake said.

“You say that now,” Troy replied trying to hide his grin, “you can be around the next time his experiments go haywire.”  Another hidden scar, on his hip, from a lucky graze.  He’d nearly lost something far more important.  “Justin’s a mechatronic specialist.  I wish I had my phone, it’s awesome.”

“You still don’t have your cell back?”  Jake asked.

Troy pulled out the cheap touch screen, “I got this one, yeah.”  He said.  “Special circumstances, do not call anyone, blah, blah, blah.  No, back in Beacon Hills, I’ve got a Blue Mountain cell phone.  I left it with Justin to keep it safe.”  He had left so much behind, clothes his parents didn’t approve of that he bought anyways, pictures of the Pack, the electronics that he would never bring in the house because his parents would confiscate them.  He’d only managed the phone because it was protected.

“What’s Blue Mountain?”  Emma asked.

“Only _the_ most advanced cell phone around,” Maya said, “ _you’ve_ got one?  I heard they cost more than the revenue of a mid-sized country.”

“The owner built it for me,” Troy replied casually.  “Derek and Justin live in his condo complex so we run into each other on occasion.  I left it with Justin when we moved because my parents have a _thing_ about gifts.”  He twisted to look at the others, “Don’t spend more than five dollars on a gift unless you’re prepared to store it for me.  They will take it back to the store and pay you for whatever it is.  Burrows do not Borrow after all.  You have been warned.”

“Your parents are weird,” Jake told him.

“I’m also not joking,” Troy said.  He turned back around with a sigh.  His mom had the obsessive need to present him with the best presents, the most expensive.  He thought it was to make up for the fact that his dad was just as happy to ignore him than to enjoy spending time with him.  But that was a thing when your wife decided that if you couldn’t get her pregnant than she’d find her own way, and a sperm bank was slightly more respectable than an actual affair.

As he stared out the window, Troy could hear his Rangers talking amongst themselves and he smiled.  They weren’t sure what all they should believe about what was going on, and that was okay.  Troy told them as much of the truth as he was able to without having to fear for his life.  Stiles was the only human he knew that seemed to _like_ getting Derek to threaten him on a regular basis.  When Troy got caught up with Derek’s side of the pack, he tended to keep his head down and his reaction to things like Peter as minor as possible.  The three times Derek had been angry at Troy had been enough.  Although Troy did maintain that Derek getting mad that Troy needed to use a bathroom was just on this side of ridiculous.

After a few more minutes of staring out the window at the trees flashing by the highway, Troy’s eyes slid closed and the gentle murmurs of his Pack, his team, followed him into his dreams.

 

 

 

***

 

_He stood on a battlefield, surrounded by monsters and Rangers.  He couldn’t see the Mega Force Rangers, but when he ducked a particularly persistent monster, he saw the Blue Turbo Ranger.  “This is a mess,” Turbo shouted at him._

_“I know,” Troy shouted back.  “We need to regroup.”_

_“I don’t think we have time.”_

“…Time.”

Troy jerked upright, gasping.  “Whoa,” Gia said.

Troy stared at Gia in the driver’s seat, “What…” he began.

“We dropped Maya off about an hour and a half ago,” Emma said from behind them.  “You were sleeping so we decided not to wake you.  Is everything all right?”

“Yeah,” Troy said, settling back into his seat.  “I was just having a weird dream.”

“Well, Beacon Hills is less than three miles away,” Gia said, “we’ll be there in plenty of time.”

“Right,” Troy said, looking out the window.

The road was winding through the preserve, and Troy wondered if the Pack was out there training.  His hand twitched for the window controls, but he stopped himself before he could open the window and listen for them.  The road turned a curve.

“What the…”  Gia said.

The Beacon Hills city limits sign was now visible, and it had been vandalized by three infinity symbols.  Troy clenched his fists as they drove by.  “What was that?”  Noah asked.

“Trouble,” Troy said shortly.  “We’ll be staying out of it.”

“But,” Jake said.

“We’ll stay out of it as much as we can.  We don’t need to get involved with the shit that goes down in Beacon Hills.  We’ve got our own battles to fight.”  Troy said firmly.  He gestured to Gia, “Pull over there, please.”

“Why?”  Gia asked.

“Just please pull over,” Troy said.

Gia pulled into a small rest stop and Troy slid out of the car.  The woods sounded like they always did, full of the bustling of a thousand woodlands creatures.  He took a deep breath and felt his chest loosen as the smells of his life surrounded him.  He could hear his teammates piling out of the van but he didn’t turn to look at them.

Further down, there would be the turn off used by Stiles and Scott on the night before their sophomore year.  The night that Beacon Hills felt the return of its werewolf pack.

“Troy,” Gia began.

“May I finish the drive in?”  Troy asked, “I know where we’re going.”

Gia hesitated, and then tossed him the keys.  “Don’t tell my sister.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Troy replied, maybe there was something in the air of Beacon Hills that inspired kids to do things they shouldn’t.  He’d have bet money on Gia never handing over the keys.

The sound of a siren and a sheriff’s car pulling in front of the SUV killed Troy’s small smile.  “I got this,” he told the others and strolled forward.  He kept his face neutral as Sheriff Stilinski slid out of the car.  “Sheriff,” he said.

“Mister Burrows,” the Sheriff replied.  “It’s been a while.”

“It’s a shame that these are the circumstances I came back under,” Troy replied.

“Indeed,” the Sheriff said.  He looked over Troy’s shoulder, “May I ask why you stopped here?”

Troy couldn’t help the smile that appeared, “Chinese Fire Drill, Sheriff.  Just stretching our legs.”

“There’s no red light.”  The sheriff said, looking around for a moment.

“The last time there was a red light you threatened to treat us to a night in a holding cell to respect the need to drive safely.”  Troy replied, crossing his arms.

“Ah,” the sheriff said, “it’s nice to know you remember.  Are you planning to head to Danny’s house?”

“His parents are out of town,” Troy said, “and I needed a place to change.”

“Actually they came back this morning, their trip was cut short,” the sheriff said.  He smiled a little at Troy, “Go stop by my place and change.  Stiles will be there to let you in.”

“Thank you,” Troy said.

“We all deserve a chance to mourn,” the sheriff replied.

Troy nodded and glanced at his shoulder to find the team had come closer.  “These are my friends,” he said, “from Harwood County.  Gia, Emma, Jake, and Noah.  Guys, this is the Sheriff of Beacon Hills, Mister Stilinski.”

“Morning guys,” the sheriff said.  “My son Stiles, and probably his friend Scott will be waiting at the house.  I’m sure things will be fine.”  He turned and headed for his car.

“We’ll see you at the funeral?”  Troy called.

“Absolutely,” the sheriff replied.

Troy turned to the team, “We should go.  Unfortunately we can’t go to Danny’s now.”

“Why not?”  Gia asked.

“Mrs. M would be on the phone to my mother five minutes after we walked through the door to tell her we made it here safe,” Troy replied.  “We lived around the corner from each other and Mrs. M was a stickler for calling to announce a safe arrival.”

“Mrs. M?”  Jake said as they all climbed into the SUV.

“I can’t pronounce Danny’s last name,” Troy replied.  “I gave up years ago.  It’s like Stiles, the Sheriff’s kid.  Nobody knows his real name, so we all call him Stiles.  He made it up himself, way back when.  He liked the idea of being a link between the straight and narrow road and the wild fields, because that’s what it felt like for him back when he started taking meds.”  He pulled away from the rest stop and rolled down the window.  Justin’s sensors would have picked them up, so he began to hum _Man in the Mirror._   Anyone listening would know who was coming in.

“Are you humming Michael Jackson?”  Jake demanded suddenly.

Sometimes, Troy loved his team like he did his pack.

Scott was standing outside Stiles’ house when they got there, looking lost as he watched them pull in.  Troy turned to his friends, “Give me a minute, okay?”

“Sure,” Gia said, “we’ll get our stuff.  Do you need your duffle?”

“No,” Troy replied, “that’s for later.”  He slid out of the car and hurried over to Scott.  The last time he’d seen the Alpha, Scott had been new to his power and nervous about everyone handling the change in leadership.  The man and he was a man, who pulled him into a hug, was more than that.  Troy let his head rest against Scott’s temple, content for the moment to enjoy the hug.  Then he looked at Scott like a Red Ranger would.

He could see how damaged Scott was, the bruises in his soul from loosing Allison, from nearly losing Stiles, and the bruises that hadn’t fully healed from before, from Erica, and the Alpha Pack.  He could also see the healing and the strength that was being built out of his grief.  Troy thought it meant that Scott would be the type of Alpha that Talia would have counted as a friend, the man Deucalion should have been.

“I’m sorry,” Troy murmured.  He was sorry, for Allison, and Scott fighting to become a good Alpha, and what they’d gone through, and that he couldn’t have been there.

“Who are your friends?”  Scott asked instead.

Troy glanced over his shoulder at the four teens huddled around the back end of the SUV.  “Family,” he replied, “teammates.  Not Pack, but close.”

“They wouldn’t let you come alone?”  Scott said.

“There wasn’t a chance of it,” Troy agreed.

“Then maybe they are worthy of you,” Scott murmured as he stepped around Troy to approach the group.

Troy shook his head, because that right there was what worried him.  Allison had been important to Scott for the entire time he’d been a werewolf, with her gone, he wasn’t sure what would happen in Scott’s head.  Then he trotted after the Alpha, falling in step just a little behind him as they got to the driveway.  “Everyone,” he said, making sure he had their attention, “This is Scott.  Scott, these are Gia, Noah, Emma, and Jake.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Emma offered after a moment of silence.

“Thank you,” Scott said quietly.

“We need to get changed,” Troy said, he glanced over at Scott nervously.  “Mr. Argent won’t mind will he?”

Scott shook his head, “They can’t be there for the burial, but the church service will be fine.”

“All right then,” Troy said.

There was a grumbling roar of an engine, and then a Lamborghini pulled up in front of the house, followed by two far too familiar motorcycles.  “Aw shit,” Jake said, “is that…”

“The twins,” Troy said with a resigned sigh.  “I’m not going to punch either of them this time.”

“So you will round house kick them?”  Gia asked.

Troy caught Scott’s look and he shrugged, “It’s a bit hard to get over the whole being kidnapped thing.  It was cathartic.”

“That is a sweet ride though,” Jake commented.

“Among other things,” the driver said as he slid out of the car and studied them over the roof of the car.  “Troy, bringing home strays?”

Troy laughed, “Not strays, Justin.  Not this group.”

“I agree,” Justin said as he pulled a suit bag out of the car, “they’re a bit too colorful to be strays.”

“Hey Isaac,” Troy said as the younger teen slid out of the car, “you holding up okay?”

Isaac stared at Troy for a moment before shaking his head, tears falling from his eyes as he did so.

Troy had noticed Isaac long before werewolves became a thing.  From the first time he’d seen the kid, he’d been reminded of a kicked puppy.  After the bite, for the first time he’d seen Isaac look almost happy.  If werewolves could look like a real wolf, then Isaac would have been wagging his tail right after he got the bite.  Now, that kicked puppy look was back, and Troy hated that it had reappeared.

“It’s okay,” Justin said, pulling Isaac into a one arm hug.  “It’s okay.”  He urged Isaac to move away from the car as the twins came up the drive.

“We weren’t introduced last time,” one of the twins said.  “I’m Aiden, and this is my brother Ethan.”

“Jake,” Jake replied shortly, “this is Noah, Emma, and Gia.”

“Guys, this is Justin and Isaac,” Troy added.  “Justin’s that bartender I told you about.”  He hesitated a moment, “he also taught me some of the karate I know.”

“It’s good to meet you,” Noah said.

Justin eyed him up and down for a moment, “Same to you,” he said finally.  “We need to get changed.”

“Right,” Scott said, “Stiles is fighting his tie, and Lydia’s doing her makeup.”  He glanced at Troy, “Jackson’s here too.  Flew out especially.”

“Great,” Troy said, he glanced at his friends, then back to the house, and back to his friends again.  Then he turned, “I’ll see you inside,” he called over his shoulder before jogging across the lawn to let himself into the house.

Jackson was standing in the living room, dressed in his suit with a little smile on his face.  Troy grinned, “How’s London treating you, by the way?”

“I hated it,” Jackson replied, “I’m at Cambridge now.”

“College man,” Troy said with a laugh.  “How’s that going for you?”

“Well enough,” Jackson said.  “I’m making it happen.”

“That’s great,” Troy said, he glanced over his shoulder, “Look, I brought some friends with me.  Or rather, it was easier for us to car pool than to let them stalk me.  You’ll like them, I think.  Although Jake and Gia, well, they remind me of some people we know.”

“Together?”  Jackson asked amused.

“Nope,” Troy shook his head, “Jake’s got a massive crush on her, but Gia’s not interested.”

“I definitely know who that sounds like,” Jackson agreed.

“It’s definitely entertaining,” Troy said.

The door swung open and the teens turned to find everybody coming in, with the addition of Derek and Peter to the mix.  “You forgot this,” Justin said, holding out a dress bag.

“Sorry,” Troy said as he took it.

“It’s all right,” Justin replied as he adjusted his tie.  “Hi Jackson, good to see you again.”

“You too,” Jackson replied.

“This is Aiden and Ethan,” Justin added.

“So I’ve heard,” Jackson said softly.

“That was a fun phone call,” Troy said with a slight smirk.

“My roommate didn’t think so,” Jackson said.  “He moved out the next day.”  He was grinning a bit though, so Troy thought he wasn’t that mad about it.

“Bathroom’s free,” Stiles called as he bounded down the stairs, “hey Troy!  Hi Troy’s friends.  Ladies, Lydia is up stairs with hair and makeup tools if you need them.”

“Stiles,” Troy said with a slight smile, “my friends are Jake, Emma, Noah, and Gia.  This is Stiles.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Stiles said.

“How much Adderall have you had today?”  Troy countered.

Derek growled.

“It’s not my fault Adderall affects my opinion of him,” Troy said.  “Did you introduce yourself even, or did you just grunt?”

“He grunted,” Justin said.  “He’s monosyllabic like that.”

“Troy,” Peter said, “it’s good to see you again.  It’s been a while.”

“Not long enough,” Troy replied dryly.

“Indeed,” Peter replied, “this is an interesting group however.  You could have been- well, you’ve lost your chance anyways.”  He looked at Scott for a long moment, “I doubt Scott would do it, even if you were gagging for it.”

The feel of his fist impacting with Peter’s face was wonderful.  Watching as Peter’s head snapped back and his nose crunched eased something inside himself.

Hands grabbed him before Troy could make another move, and he looked, surprised to find Jake and Gia pulling him away from Peter.  “Is this a thing for you?”  Jake asked, “Like, are you incapable of greeting people without punching them if you don’t like them?”

Troy shrugged his arms free of their hold.  “Only the ones that deserve it.  Right Peter?”

“I can’t imagine what I could have done to you,” Peter said.

“Oh I’m a giver, and a sharer,” Troy said.  “I share my friends’ enemies, and I give them the smack downs they deserve.”

“Smack down later,” Scott said, stepping between them, “get ready now.  We are not going to be late.”

***

Mister Argent was standing in the middle of the church steps as people filed inside.  “You’ll have to sit in the back,” Troy told them.  “I’ll be with the others, it’s a thing.”

“We’ll be fine,” Gia said.  “I’ll keep them in line.”

“Let’s go,” Jake said, “you’ve only said this five times already.  Scott told us, Stiles told us, and Derek grunted, which I think meant the same thing.”

“Sorry,” Troy muttered.

They headed up the steps and Troy angled over to where Mister Argent was standing, “Mister Argent,” he said quietly.

“Troy,” Argent replied.  “Derek told me you were here.”  He glanced over Troy’s shoulder, “With friends.”

“Sorry,” Troy said.  “They would have stalked me either way.  This way saved gas and the environment.”  He winced, because it was clear that being back in Beacon Hills pretty much killed all of the self-control he’d developed from dealing with Derek.

Argent shook his head slightly, “Go on,” he said.

Troy gestured to his friends and hurried into the church.  “What was that?”  Gia hissed.

“Sorry,” Troy replied, “that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Jackson came up beside them, “Troy’s always been like that.  You didn’t know?”

“I’ve learned to control myself a bit,” Troy replied.  “We’ll meet you guys later,” he added over his shoulder.”

The Pack was sitting across the chapel from another group of somber people.  Jackson leaned over, “Argents,” he murmured.

“Lovely,” Troy said.

They looked at the Hunters, who watched them suspiciously, as they slid into the Pack’s pew.

As they settled, music began to fill the room.  Troy swallowed as the song became clear.  Allison had put _If I Die Young_ on her playlists every chance she got.  It was a strangely appropriate song for her funeral.

Troy leaned into Jackson, enjoying the feeling of being with his best friend and his pack.  He missed having his teammates close, but when Jackson leaned back into him, he enjoyed the warmth and camaraderie as a foil against the preacher’s words.

It helped him keep from crying as people spoke about Allison who didn’t know anything about her.  They only knew the outside of Allison.  None of them knew what Allison was like when she pinned her hair up and picked up her bow.  None of them knew the Allison who stood up to werewolves and Kanima as if they were just belligerent drunks in a dirty bar.

Finally, the public portion of the funeral was over.

Troy saw his friends pile into the SUV, as they would follow them to the cemetery to pick them up afterwards.  He also had little doubt that at least Jake would take the time to change back into everyday clothes.

He put his team out of his mind as he followed Scott and Stiles into Stiles’s Jeep, trusting Gia to keep things in line.  She was a good second.

“So,” Stiles said as they drove, “how did you meet those guys?”

Troy hesitated, “It was weird.  We were all volunteered for a community thing and we just clicked.  It was a lot like hanging out with you guys.  No effort involved or anything.”

“They seem like they’re pretty tight, and they’re protective of you,” Scott said.

“Well, Jake and Noah have been best friends since forever, and Gia and Emma are dating, so yeah there’s that.  It’s not easy or anything, but it’s good.  Except for Jake’s rather persistent crush on Gia, that’s mostly entertainment.”

“Doesn’t he know they’re dating?”  Scott asked, “I knew when they got out of the SUV.”

“We’re not exactly sure,” Troy replied.  “It’s not like they’re hiding it or anything.  Noah says that Jake isn’t as oblivious as he acts, but he won’t say anything to him.”

“So why don’t you?”  Stiles asked.

“Gia asked me not to,” Troy said, “she thinks that Jake will realize that his crush is based on a fantasy and not a real person and back off.  I’m sure that she’ll tell Jake something if it gets too far, Gia’s not the sort to let other people force her to do something.”

“Sounds like a couple of girls I know,” Stiles said.

They pulled up to the cemetery and Troy sighed, “I don’t want to go back.”

Scott turned, “Don’t worry, maybe in a few weeks we’ll come see you.”

“No!”  Troy yelped.  “No, don’t.”

“Why not?”  Scott asked.

“It’s not safe,” Troy said, “didn’t you hear, there are Power Rangers in Harwood County.  It’s bad enough that I have to live there.  I don’t want to have to worry about you guys too.”

“Then we’ll meet up again,” Scott said.  “We’re not going to leave you alone after all.  What your parents are doing…”

“Don’t,” Troy said.  “I don’t have that long to suffer through, and I’ve got an idea on how to make it shorter.  I’ll have to talk to Justin first.  Is he mad at someone?  I haven’t seen him drive the Roadster since he got into it with Coach last year.”

“That was awesome though,” Stiles said, “the world’s most expensive car _and_ the world’s most expensive suit, just to intimidate the world’s most obsessive coach.”

They scrambled out of the jeep and headed off to join the others.  “Everything all right?”  Peter asked.

“Gossip,” Troy replied, “gotta start hurricanes somehow.”

“You mean the butterfly effect?  Don’t you need butterflies for that one?”  Peter retorted.

“I could just punch you again,” Troy muttered, knowing Peter would hear him.

They gathered around the casket, watching each other carefully.  “Scott,” Justin said.

“They won’t do anything,” Scott replied.  “They’re like us.  They don’t want to be found.  They’re just watching today.”

“What?”  Troy asked.

“Rival pack,” Isaac said.  “They’ve been circling around for a while, but they haven’t exactly contacted us.  Beyond taking a few shots at the twins.”

“Shots?”  Troy said.

“With wolfsbane bullets,” Isaac replied.

“Boys,” Scott said.  “Now is not the time.”

Troy looked up and found Boyd slipping into the group with a nod to Troy.  He looked a lot better than the last Troy had seen him, when he’d been healing from the battle with the twins and Kali, when they had tried to make Derek kill Boyd.

“We’re here to say farewell to a friend,” Derek said.  “She was a warrior.”

“She was Pack,” Scott said.

“She gave her life for me,” Isaac said brokenly.

“She fought to protect people,” Boyd said.

“She was a good friend,” Lydia murmured.

“She was a teacher,” Troy whispered.

“We will never forget her,” Argent said.  “Her name and her story will be shared for so long as we breathe.  Her legacy will live on in each of us.”

“She is loved.  She is honored.  She is remembered.”  Stiles said.

A howl echoed out of the forest.  They turned to stare as a group of people exited the woods dressed in fatigues.  “What’s going on?”  Stiles asked.

“They’re being rude,” Scott replied as his eyes turned red and he stepped forward.

Troy glanced over his shoulder to the parking lot where his friends were waiting, “Scott,” he said carefully.

One member of the other group roared.

“Shit,” Troy said as Scott roared back.  He blinked, “Are those Alphas.”

“Yup,” Isaac said.

“ _Another_ Alpha Pack?”  Troy asked.

“Yup,” Isaac said.

“What do you want?”  Scott called as the group approached.

“We want the Alphas,” the leader, a woman, called back.

“There’s only one Alpha here,” Scott said.

“No, we want them,” she pointed at the twins and Peter.

“What for?”  Scott asked.

“For forcing innocents to become werewolves,” the woman replied.  “They deserve to die.”

“No,” Scott said.  “You won’t touch my pack.”

“Peter Hale turned you against your will, and you call him _pack?”_   One of the men said.

“I don’t like him, and I don’t really trust him,” Scott said, “but he’s a part of this pack, and no one touches my pack.  Peter Hale and Aiden and Ethan are mine.”

“You don’t even know their name.”

“Legally it’s Stewart these days,” Justin offered casually.  “And I kind of object to people threatening my legal wards, and I’ve got a lot of money to make those objections very painful.”

“They deserve to die,” the woman said.  “You have until the full moon to hand them over.  Then we’ll go through your pack one by one until we get them.”

“You know, Deucalion thought he could do that,” Derek said.  “We’re still here though.”

“Four former Alphas,” one of the others said, “what the hell kind of pack are you?”

“The kind that is based on being friends and trusting each other.  We don’t need to be Alphas to be strong.”  Scott replied coldly.

“We became Alphas because the Alphas that turned us forced the change and we fought back,” the woman said.  “That change is an abomination.  Now, we make sure Alphas who force the change can’t do it too someone else.”

“That does not make you judge, jury, and executioner to Alphas because you can,” Troy said, stepping past the others.  He slipped past Scott, “You destroy packs because of an arbitrary decision.  You break families, you tear apart lives.  You hurt people in your quest for vengeance.  You don’t know anything about this pack, you just think it’s your God-given right to destroy it.”

“You’re just a human,” the woman said.  “You don’t know anything.”

“I’m a lot more than that,” Troy said, smirking.  “Maybe one day, you’ll know exactly who I am.”  He turned on his heel and stalked through the group.  “Maybe when you know, you’ll be better for it.”

Troy could feel his senses flaring up as he turned his back on an enemy, but he could also tell they were leaving.  He was just passing the coffin when Scott grabbed his arm, “Are you crazy?”  Scott demanded.

“Not yet,” Troy said.  “I’m still working on it.”  He glanced over his shoulder to where the Alpha Pack had disappeared.  “They need to get a reality check, Scott, and I need to get ready to get on the road.”

“If this comes down to a fight, you won’t be here,” Scott said.

“Maybe I will,” Troy said.  “I’m getting less and less enamored of Harwood County every day.”  He looked up at his team, “At the moment, there are only four reasons keeping me there.”  He paused, studying his team.  Noah was sitting in the front passenger seat, reading something, Emma had her camera out and was taking pictures of some of the older headstones while Gia trailed after her.  “Oh crap,”  Troy said.  “How is this my life?”

He freed his arm from Scott’s grasp and ran for the van, “Gia, Emma!”  He called as he ran, “Noah!”  They were waiting when he got there.  “Where’s Jake?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! I needed Allison's funeral to be my catalyst for the rest of the story. I saved Boyd because Justin's presence changed things. Justin is a werewolf, amongst other things, and nobody knows he's actually a werewolf. Justin's presence has changed any number of things.
> 
> Also, I apologize if people seem OOC, I was caught up between the somber nature of the day and my overwhelming sarcasm as inspired by my job. (I hate my job. A lot.) I'm hoping as I get further along, I'll get better at characterizations.
> 
> Also, the Nogitsune is still roaming around. Which means Aiden didn't die yet and can be saved.


	2. Missing

“Where did he go?”  Troy asked as they gathered in front of the SUV.

“He was changing,” Emma said, “I wanted to photograph some of those old tombstones for a project.”

“I was right there,” Noah said.

“What happened?”  Troy asked, grabbing Noah’s arm.

“He was talking,” Noah said, “I wasn’t really paying attention, “he just wanted to say some stuff, get it off his chest.  Then he said something…”

“What did he say?”  Troy pushed.

“I think it was about Stiles,” Noah replied.

Emma thought that Troy looked like he’d been socked in the gut as he turned to look at his old friends.  “Scott,” he said quietly.

“I’m sorry,” Scott said, holding his hands up and exchanging a look with Stiles.

“You said…”  Troy all but growled.

“We couldn’t have predicted this would happen!”  Scott said.

“Oh, you couldn’t?”  Troy said, “You said things were under control.  I could have at least warned them!”

“How do you think you could have done that?”  Hale demanded.

“Like this,” Troy replied, turning to the team.  “Beacon Hills is like Briarwood, sometimes weird people and creatures show up and things can get out of hand.  Allison and my friends are part of that; they make sure the body count stays as low as zero, among other things.  Their latest problem involved a creature that’s been running around looking like Stiles, so be careful unless someone else is there to actually vouch for him.”

“Duly noted,” Emma said.

“What kind of creatures?”  Noah asked.

“That we’ll have to discuss later,” Justin Stewart announced.  “We shouldn’t stay out in the open much longer, now that our friends in the woods have proven unable to respect a funeral.”

“What was that about?”  Gia asked, “I couldn’t make out the shouting, but it sounded bad.”

“Later,” Troy said shortly.  “Where are we going?”

“My place,” Justin said, “it’s the best secured.”

“What a minute,” Gia said, “Troy, what?”

Troy looked at his old friends then stepped closer to the team, drawing them close.  “Look, there are things going on that I can’t talk about.  That’s cannot, not will not.  If you three can just trust me for a bit longer, I think things are going to fall out in such a way that all those secrets are going to have to come out.  Can you trust me?”

“Just so long as we can get Jake back,” Noah said quietly.

“We’ll get him back,” Troy said.  “When we get in the SUV, I’ve got an idea or two that might help.”

Gia glanced over at the other group, which was actually dispersing to the other vehicles.  Justin Stewart was handing one of the boys, Isaac she thought, a set of keys with a stern expression; Isaac looked partly terrified and was nodding rapidly to whatever it was Justin was saying.  Finally, Isaac ran for Justin’s car and Justin approached them.

“Justin,” Troy said, almost casually.

“Troy,” Justin said.

“Can we help you?”  Troy asked.

Gia wondered if Troy would ever be that relaxed around their team.  His shoulders had lowered, his stance was relaxed, and he didn’t look as if he expected to be ambushed at any second.  “I think we need to clear the air a bit,” Justin said, “now that I can do this without getting NDA forms FedExed to my place.”

“All right,” Troy said, looking as confused as Gia felt.

“I’m a retired Power Ranger,” Justin said, “and I know you guys are active.”  He turned slightly to look at Noah for a moment, “I am a Blue Ranger, in case you’re wondering.”

“Oh cool,” Noah said.

“And suddenly, your heroic rescue at the Jungle makes sense,” Troy said.

Gia wondered if he was actually that unsurprised, or if he was just pretending he wasn’t surprised.

“Yeah, yeah,” Justin said.  “We need to get moving, I don’t trust those idiots not to try something.  Mind if I catch a ride with you guys?”

Troy looked over at Gia, “Think your parents would mind?”

“No,” Gia said, “as long as he doesn’t actually drive, we should be fine.”

“Let’s go then,” Troy said.

They scrambled in the SUV, and Gia maneuvered to put herself between Emma and Noah on the middle seat.  It was a bit crowded, but Noah looked so grateful when Gia sat down that she didn’t regret the move at all.  It was one of those things Gia had noticed since she became a Ranger, she sometimes had a feeling that she should say or do something, and every time she followed that impulse, it seemed to help someone.  It wasn’t that she’d never done nice things for people before, it was just more _important_ to her now.

“Gia,” Troy said as he drove away from the cemetery, “Can you call Gosei for us and see if he can’t track Jake’s morpher.”

“We need to call Jake’s mom,” Noah said, “She needs to know something’s happened.”

“Jake’s mom doesn’t know we’re in Beacon Hills,” Troy said, “What would you tell her.”

“No, she knows,” Noah said.  “Jake doesn’t keep secrets from Ms. Hannah at all.  He tells her everything.  Ms. Hannah said that she doesn’t fully approve of you going off without your parents knowing, but given the way they’ve handled things, she understands why you feel like you do.  I think she’d probably agree to cover for you in the future if you asked her politely.  She also knows we’re Power Rangers.”

“He told her that?”  Emma said, “Gosei said…”

“Jake’s parents had a very nasty divorce a few years back,” Noah said firmly, “Ms. Hannah kept custody of Jake, but it was closely fought then, and his dad still isn’t happy about it.  To keep him from trying to get Jake back because Ms. Hannah is an unfit parents, Jake and Ms. Hannah promised to never keep secrets from each other.  They can omit details, but they don’t lie about anything.  Ms. Hannah wouldn’t tell anyone about us being Rangers, and she’ll even help if we need her to.”

“It’s ok,” Justin said, “as long as she isn’t talking this can be a good thing.”

“What do you mean?”  Troy asked.

“Having someone know who you are means that you have someone who can make your excuses and provide an alibi. We had a couple back in Angel Grove that I know about.”  Justin snorted, “We weren’t exactly subtle about being Rangers either.  I’m surprised it wasn’t more of an open secret than it actually was.  On the other hand, considering one of those Rangers is currently a politician, maybe that’s a good thing.”

“We can discuss this later,” Troy said, “Gia, Gosei?”

“Right,” Gia said and got out her morpher.  “Gosei, are you there?”  She asked.

“I am here,” Gosei said.

“Jake is missing,” Gia said, “we think he was taken by a local creature.  Can you track his morpher?  Maybe it can lead us to him.”

After a long moment, Gosei said, “Unfortunately Rangers, Jake’s morpher indicates that he is in your vehicle, as well as an unidentified sixth morpher.”

“That would be mine,” Justin said loudly.  “Justin Stewart, Blue Turbo Ranger.  I was at the funeral when Jake vanished so I offered my help as a local guide and home base.”

“Thank you Justin,” Gosei said.

“Once a Ranger, always a Ranger,” Justin replied.  Gia wondered if he was as bitter about that as he sounded. 

“If you could try anything, Gosei,” she said instead, “we’d appreciate it.”

“I will do my best,” Gosei said.

“He probably put it in his bag on accident,” Noah said.  His voice caught for a second, “Jake does that a lot.”

“Don’t worry,” Justin said, “the Nogitsune isn’t likely to kill him out of hand, not when Jake is _new_ and _unusual_ and leaves the way open for Chaos.”  He paused, “Are you sure Jake isn’t a green?”

“Jake’s Black,” Troy said, “why?”

Justin shrugged, “Something about him made me think he was a green ranger.”

“He’s our black ranger,” Troy said.

“Maybe he just has some potential,” Justin mused.

“Is there a difference?”  Gia asked, “In Ranger colors I mean.”

“Is there, of _course_ there’s a difference,” Justin said, twisting to look back at her, “you aren’t the same as…  Emma right?  The colors have a lot of meaning and history.”

“Well, we haven’t been Rangers long,” Troy said.  “I’m sure there will be time later to explain things.  On the other hand, we’ll probably be at the condo in about five minutes and there are a few things you guys should be aware of.”

“What are you thinking?”  Justin asked.

“Easy,” Troy said, “if these guys were a ranger team, Scott would be their Red, hands down.  Allison was their Pink.  I’m not sure about Stiles, but you and Lydia are both solid on Blue.”

“Stiles is a Purple,” Justin replied.  “He’s got that instinct.  Isaac’s a Yellow, hands down.  Derek is a Black.  The twins are White and Gold.  Jackson would be a Green.  Boyd is a strong contender for White.  Danny, amusingly enough, also would be a Black.”

“The catch would be that Derek and the twins were leaders in their own right, but Derek gave it up to save his sister and the twins…”  Troy hesitated.

“Aidan and Ethan were pushed into becoming who they were before they were ready to do it,” Justin said, “They don’t really have the instinct or the training for it.  They might have had that spark, but Deucalion didn’t see them as anything more than what they were before, just stronger.  I know you have your issues with Aidan and Ethan, but don’t fully condemn them because of what they were made.  Let them have the opportunity to change.”

“I’m going to,” Troy said.  “Now, as to how things work, Scott has final say on things, no matter how much of a goof he seems.  Despite how Stiles acts, provoking Derek is neither fun nor healthy.”

“Derek’s has a tragic history,” Justin said, “he doesn’t trust easily and he was raised in a family that was very active.  He forgets that not everyone grew up with siblings that do things like throw you into a wall when they get mad.”

“Or threaten to rip their throat out with your teeth.”

“He’s a good guy though,” Justin said.  “He just needs to warm up to you.”

Gia wondered how death threats equated to good guy, and then figured that she didn’t want to know.  Whatever history existed between Justin, Derek, and Troy, they could keep it to themselves.  Instead, she focused her attention on her hand, gently tracing a rune into the palm, thinking of Jake, his goofy smile and his eagerness to be around her.

“We’re here,” Justin said finally.


	3. Forgotten

Scott liked Troy, for the most part.  They’d had some rocky moments due to lacrosse, but once Troy learned about werewolves, he’d become a staunch friend and supporter to the Pack.  Losing him had been upsetting, because Scott didn’t have many friends and Troy was loyal above anything.  That’s why he hadn’t been too surprised with Troy arrived with new friends in tow.  What little Scott had seen of the quartet meant he liked them.  Noah was a less polished Justin, highly intelligent, but more relaxed, possibly due to the influence of Jake, his best friend.  They had a bit of an odd couple routine going, but it wasn’t any weirder than Scott’s friendship with Stiles.

Gia and Emma weren’t a surprise either.  Troy liked strong women, not romantically, but as friends.  He’d been a good friend to Lydia, and even closer to Allison.  It would be interesting to see how Troy reacted to Kira and Malia.

Still, the teens were keeping something secret.  Scott hadn’t caught Troy in a lie, exactly, but they had been evasive about the details of their friendship from the beginning.  Justin had been smugly amused since meeting them, and Scott would bet that he knew what was going on with Troy.  That did make him feel a bit better about everything, because Justin might be the most forgiving man Scott knew in certain circumstances, he wouldn’t stand by and let bad things happen or bad people go unnoticed.

“Hey Scott,” Troy said when he and his friends got to the loft, “Can we talk?”

“Sure,” Scott said, heading for the balcony.  “What’s up?”

Troy closed the loft door behind him carefully, his shoulders tense.  “Look Scott,” Troy said as he turned around.  “There’s something you need to know.  I think at some point everyone will know, but I think you need to know now.”

“All right,” Scott said.

“Well, Justin figured this out,” Troy said, “and I’m not really supposed to tell but you should know, especially since this happened.”

“Troy,” Scott said, “deep breaths, buddy.  I’m not going to rip your head off here.”

Troy gave him a small smile.  “Okay, it goes like this,” he said.  “You know how there are Power Rangers in Harwood County?”

“Yeah,” Scott said.

“We’re them,” Troy said, staring at Scott.  “Gia, Emma, Noah, Jake and I are the Megaforce Power Rangers.”

There was no hint of a lie.

Scott blinked a few times, “Okay,” he said finally.  “I can see why you wanted me to know.”

Troy nodded earnestly, “Also, I’m the Red Ranger, so I’m kind of their Alpha, except that Derek was and now you _are_ my Alpha.  Unless you don’t, I mean, I know I’m not.”

“Troy,” Scott snapped, wondering what had gotten into Troy.  He normally wasn’t a babbler.  However, normally Troy hadn’t been kidnapped and emotionally traumatized by Alpha werewolves and then dragged off to become a freaking Power Ranger.

“Sorry,” Troy said, “I’m kind of really on edge right now.  Jake’s missing, and I’m not leaving until we find him and I just don’t know how my parents will react to that.”

Of course, it was Troy’s parents, Scott thought.  Those two were more than enough to strip away all of Troy’s layers and defenses with a single word.  “They’ll have to deal,” Scott said, “the same as my mom, the Sheriff, and Mister Argent learned to deal.”

“Well,” Troy hesitated, “I’m thinking about asking Justin about how to get emancipated minor status if they put up too much of a fuss.”

“Or there’s that,” Scott agreed.  “How are you holding up with everything, anyways?”

Troy shrugged, “I’m mostly all right during the day.  Seeing the twins was a huge shock, although I can understand why you sent them now.  I still get nightmares.”

“I get nightmares,” Scott said, “and I haven’t been through half of what you went through.”

Troy nodded, “Hey, I’m going to go see if there’s somewhere I can change, all right?  I need out of this monkey suit.”

“Go ahead,” Scott said, “I’m about to go grab my spare change of clothes too.”  He watched as Troy turned and reached for the door, “And Troy,” he called.  When Troy was looking at him, Scott smiled, “You’re still Pack, okay?  There’s always going to be a place for you here.”

Troy smiled back at him and vanished inside.

Scott leaned against the balcony railing and stared out at the city below him, wondering what it must be like, to be chosen to be a Power Ranger.

“That was a nice thing to say.”

Scott looked up and smiled as Justin walked over, “Yeah?”  He asked.

“I only heard that last bit,” Justin said as he leaned against the railing.  “Troy needs to hear that sometimes.”

“He’s a Power Ranger though,” Scott said.

“Doesn’t mean he can’t be scared or insecure,” Justin replied.  “He’s just better than most at hiding it.  He’s probably terrified for Jake and the others, blaming himself for not saying something before they got here, and freaking out that this is a sign that he’s not cut out to be a Red Ranger.  He’ll never realize that those three things, in that order, are why he’s a Red Ranger.”

“You know a lot about the Rangers,” Scott said.

“I’m old friends with the Astros,” Justin replied, “I learned a few things in my time.”

Scott nodded.  “Do you think we’ll find Jake?”

“Yes,” Justin replied.  “Even if we have to do some mystic mumbo jumbo while dancing naked, we’ll find Jake.”

Scott smiled, “Thanks Justin.  You’re a good man to talk to.”

“I try,” Justin said.  He straightened up, “You need to go get changed, Scott.  You’ll be a lot more comfortable out of that suit.”

“Right,” Scott said.  “Thanks again.”  He headed back inside, and right into the middle of an argument.

“Not everyone eats Chinese food,” Gia was saying sharply.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Stiles replied.  “And I’m hungry.”

“And the only things you want are greasy and fattening,” Gia said, “there are better things to eat.”

“Hey,” Scott said, catching both of their attention, “what’s going on?”

“I’m hungry,” Stiles said, “and Ms. Eat-healthy here is objecting to everything I suggested.”

“I don’t like take out,” Gia replied, “commercially processed food is so unhealthy and most of it is fried anyways.”

“Sounds like a little girl I’ve met,” Justin commented from behind Scott.  “Stiles, there’s a can of Pringles on the fridge, munch on those.  Gia, would you help me make something up for everybody?”

“Sure,” Gia said with a smile.

Scott scanned the main room of Justin’s loft.  Noah and Emma were sitting on the couch, Noah with his head in his hands and Emma rubbing his back gently.  Derek and Isaac were talking together quietly by one of Justin’s worktables.

The twins were probably still down in their apartment, given the number of people who didn’t particularly care about them, and Scott just hoped that Peter was in Derek’s apartment instead of out getting into trouble.  Lydia had gone with Jackson to see Danny, but then, Jackson had never really been comfortable around the Pack and Lydia had only told Scott that she didn’t feel anything certain yet and would call him if it changed.  Scott couldn’t help be relieved that Jackson wasn’t here to stir things up as much as he wished Lydia had been comfortable enough to join them. 

Boyd had gone home to change, but would make his way back over soon.  Mister Argent had left, citing a need to check on the movers packing up his condominium, and Scott really didn’t want to drag him back into their problems again, not after the last time.  The Sheriff had gone back to the station before Jake had vanished, so they could put off letting him know about Jake, and his mother, Melissa, was on her way to work at the hospital.

The only people Scott couldn’t place were Kira and Malia.  They weren’t pack, yet, but Scott had taken responsibility for them in different ways and it bothered him that they were not here now, when there was an emergency.

Then there was the ding of the penthouse elevator and Kira and Malia slipped hesitantly into the room.  Scott felt something in him relax and he turned away to keep anyone from seeing his expression.  When he looked at Derek, the other man was smirking at him, implying that he wasn’t as subtle as he wanted to be.

“Bathroom’s free,” Troy announced as he came out into the main room.

“Call it,” Scott replied, loosening his tie.  He stopped by the guest room to collect his clothes before ducking into the bathroom to change.

After hanging his suit back up, Scott headed back into the great room.  Troy had joined Derek and Isaac at the worktable, and Emma and Noah had gravitated to the barstools at the kitchen island, where Justin and Gia were cooking something. Stiles was talking with Kira and Malia by the windows.

Scott headed over to join Derek, Troy, and Isaac, tuning into their conversation as he walked over.  “It’s not like we can search every deserted building in Beacon Hills,” Troy said.  “The recession hit the city hard, and there are too many to keep track.”

“Troy’s right,” Scott said as he joined them.  “We have to find some other way to do this.”

“I’ve been checking Justin’s sensors,” Isaac offered, “and I can’t pick up any of the energy that he identified as the Nogitsune.”

Scott took an unsteady breath.  “I didn’t know he’d finished that,” he said.

“Yeah,” Isaac said, “just after…”

Troy cleared his throat, “What kind of energy can he detect?  Do you know how sensitive this is?”

“What do you have in mind?”  Scott asked.

Troy bit his lip, “I’m just curious.  It’s not anything big.”  He gave Scott a sideways look, “With the Rangers in Harwood, we get access to funding to improve the city.  They’ve brought a lot of new technology in that the schools would never have had a chance at before.  It’s fascinating.”

“I’ll be happy to give you a demonstration later,” Justin called, “but we really need to start brainstorming about what’s going to happen now.”  He nodded at Gia, “And there will be food in about twenty minutes for those of us who aren’t Stiles.”

“Hey!  I’m sharing,” Stiles called back.

“He is,” Malia added, “these are really good.”

“First of all, we need to do a few introductions,” Scott said.  “Troy, this is Malia and Kira.  Malia, Kira, this is Troy, an old friend, and his new friends, Noah, Gia, and Emma.  Jake is their missing friend.”

“Oh no!”  Gia exclaimed.

“What?”  Justin asked.

“We left Maya at the water park!”  Gia said.

Troy made a strangled noise as Noah and Emma exchanged stunned looks.

“Who’s Maya?”  Stiles asked.

“My big sister,” Gia said, “she helped provide the cover for Troy to come here today.  We’re supposed to be there to pick her up in a couple of hours.”

Troy glanced at Scott, “We should call and let Maya know what’s going on.  She can decide on her own what she needs to do.  I’m not going anywhere until we find Jake.”

“None of us are,” Noah said.  It was the first time Scott had heard Noah say something that firmly.  From the way Emma took his hand, Scott thought there was something behind that.

“I’ll tell Maya what Troy told us,” Gia said, “she goes to Briarwood all the time, her boyfriend lives there.”

“You’re all welcome to stay here until this is over,” Justin said, “there’s a second penthouse that nobody’s using right now that I’ll open up for you.  Let your sister know that too.”

“Thank you,” Gia said as she pulled out her cell phone, “I’ll just step outside and make that call.”


	4. Triskele

Maya regarded the vanilla ice cream slowly dripping from its cone down her fingers and imagined it was the tears that _wanted_ to slip down her cheeks.  She and Remy had been getting close; she’d even found an engagement ring in his sock drawer.  So Maya had taken a chance and told Remy the only secret she really had.

Apparently, the ‘lapsed’ part of ‘lapsed Catholic’ was a good theory, and Maya hoped he couldn’t return the ring, only pawn it for half its price.

_“Forget your high society.”_

Maya fumbled for her cell phone, dripping ice cream all over it.  “Goddess,” she swore before bringing it to her ear, “Hello?  Gia?”

“Maya, are you okay?”  Gia asked.

“Physically or emotionally?”  Maya muttered as she regarded the ice cream cone for a long moment.  “Wait, what’s going on?  Why are you calling me?”

“Apparently, Troy failed to mention a few details about Beacon Hills,” Gia said, in a dryly amused voice.  “It’s like a shadowed version of Briarwood.  It definitely feels that way.  Also, fun fact, Allison Argent died fighting an _Otherbeing.”_

Maya whistled as she slid off her park bench and chunked the ice cream cone in the trash, she wasn’t going to finish it anyways.  “Are you okay?”

“For the most part,” Gia said.  “Except the part where the friendly neighborhood _Otherbeing_ kidnapped Jake.”

Maya frowned, and then nodded to herself.  Jake was the one with the crush on Gia that made her think of an over eager puppy.

“Troy’s friends seem confident that they can find him,” Gia said slowly, “but we’re not going to leave Beacon Hills until he’s back.”

Maya went cold, “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that I’m not leaving Beacon Hills without Jake.”  Gia said firmly.

“The hell you aren’t!”  Maya yelled, and then glared as a stranger started staring at her.

“Maya,” Gia said.

“No.  No, do not _Maya_ me.”  Maya snapped.  She grabbed her backpack off the bench with a mental wince for the ice cream on her hand and stalked into the park she’d taken refuge in after leaving Remy as she slid the backpack on properly.  “Do you know what happens when people disappear?  The person who saw them last, that would be _me,_ becomes the prime suspect!  I am not going to become Mickey Smith for a human puppy!”

There was silence for a long moment as Gia probably tried to parse out everything Maya had said.

“That’s not all he is,” Gia said finally.  “He’s loyal, funny, and nice.  He’s stuck with Noah through everything and he’s helped me out when I needed it.  Maya, he’s a _Power Ranger_ and I am _not_ leaving my teammate in the hands of an evil spirit because _you_ are afraid to step into the Tardis!”

“Power Rangers,” Maya said shortly.

“Yeah,” Gia said, “we’re Power Rangers, all five of us.  It’s kind of a secret, we’re not supposed to tell, but I think this counts as an exception.”

“You guys _left Harwood County?”_   Maya said after a long moment.

“Gosei, our mentor, he can teleport us back if something happens,” Gia replied, “and it wasn’t supposed to go down like this.”

“If he can teleport you, why doesn’t he do that for Jake?”  Maya asked.

“Because Jake doesn’t have his morpher on him, and it’s nearly impossible to track us without them,” Gia said.

Maya ran her fingers over her short hair as she contemplated the situation, then glared at the still sticky appendage.  “That was smart,” she muttered.

“What?”  Gia asked.

“Do you have a place to stay?”  Maya countered.

“Yeah, Troy’s friend, the rich guy Justin?  He’s got room for us and he said there’s a room for you to, if you want.”  Gia said.

“Good,” Maya said, “Because I’m not going to be the tin dog.”  It felt like an exercise in her criminology class.  “Here’s what needs to happen,” she said.  “You have to bring the SUV back to Briarwood.  We’ll need to leave it here so that when our parents report us missing, the APB on the SUV will lead them here and not Beacon Hills.  Someone’s going to have to follow you to bring us back, and _you_ have to be driving for the fingerprints.”

“I’ll need to talk to some people,” Gia said, “but there shouldn’t be a problem.  Scott and Justin are practical enough to understand all of this.”

Maya smiled, “Thanks Gaia.”

“It’s _Gia,”_ Gia retorted haughtily, “Says so on my birth certificate.”

“Right,” Maya drawled.  “You’ll call back with the details?”

“I will,” Gia said.  “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Gia replied.

Maya hung up her phone and regarded her sticky fingers for a long moment.  Then she looked around.  Her aimless wandering had brought her to another side of the park, a side lined with shops.  “Perfect,” she muttered as she shoved the phone in her pocket.  She hurried across the street and through the doors of a store called the Rock Porium.

She hesitated inside the door to allow her eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting.

“Hi, welcome to the Rock Porium,” a cheerful voice called.

Maya blinked a few times and found herself facing a red haired young man of her own age.  “Hi,” Maya said, “I don’t suppose you have a public restroom, do you?”

The man made a face, “It’s for paying customers only.”

“I’ll buy something,” Maya said and held up her sticky fingers, “I just need to clean up a bit.”

“It’s over there,” the man said, smiling again.  “I’m Chip, by the way.”

“Maya,” Maya replied.  “Thank you.”

“No problem!”  Chip called after her.

With clean hands and damp hair, Maya felt a lot better.  She smirked at the mirror, “And they said I’d regret my hair,” she murmured as she fluffed the damp spikes.  Cutting her long blond hair during finals week, fueled by too many energy drinks and sleepless nights, was one of her better decisions.

She opened the door to the bathroom and couldn’t help her soft laugh.  Chip was circling, and poking a tall brunette man in the same purple shirt that he was wearing, clearly another employee.  “Come on Xander,” he whined, “you promised.”

“No Chip,” Xander said, his voice warm, amused, and _very_ Australian.  He saw Maya and gave her a warm smile, “Besides, there’s a customer.”

“Maya!”  Chip said, spinning to her with a grin, “What would you like to see?  We just got all the new comic books up, and I already know that Avengers is going to rock this time.”

Maya shook her head slightly, “Sorry,” she said, “I’m a big fan of supporting my local comic book store; I got my comic fix earlier this week.  You are right about the Avengers though.”

Chip laughed, “Someone who _gets it.”_

“Yeah,” Maya said, “I could actually use some new CDs though.”

“What kind?”  Chip asked.

“Anything Celtic?”  Maya said hopefully.

“That’s over here,” Chip pointed and darted towards a CD rack.

“Sorry about him,” Xander said, “he’s like this naturally.”

“It’s okay,” Maya said, “My little brother Sky is the exact same way.”  She walked over as Chip held up some CDs.

“These are all new,” Chip said, “I’m not all that familiar with Celtic music.”

“That’s okay,” Maya said, “I’m just looking for something new.”  She took the CDs from Chip and began to flip through them.

The last case in the stack had a black cover with a bright red triskele.  For a long moment, Maya stared at the case, not even noticing Chip taking the others from her.  Her heart began to pound in her ears as she flipped the case over.  A blood red triangle made of infinity symbols covered the back cover.  A rising feeling of dread suffused her as she stared at the infinity triangle.

_“Forget your high society.”_

The world snapped back into focus and Maya hauled her phone out, “Gia?”  She asked as it reached her ear.

“What’s wrong?”  Gia replied.

“Nothing,” Maya said as she studied the case.  “I’m fine.”

“All right,” Gia said.  “Me and Troy’s friend Derek are on our way.  Where should we meet?”

“At the mall,” Maya said looking away from the case to Chip’s quizzical face.  “I’ll be in the bookstore.”

“See you soon,” Gia said cheerfully.

“Love you,” Maya replied and hung up.

“Are you okay mate?”  Xander asked.

Maya smiled at him, “I’m just fine.”  She held up the CD, “I’ll take this one.”  Maya very politely pretended that they didn’t watch her leave.

***

Gia and Derek arrived at the mall not quite two hours later.  Maya was waiting for them with a latte for Gia and coffees for her and Derek.

Derek proved to be a man her age, tall, well built, with dark hair and a five o’clock shadow.  He did not look like the kind of person who drove an SUV, Jeep or not, not with that leather jacket.

“Derek,” Gia said as Maya climbed into the SUV, “this is Maya.  Maya, this is Derek Hale.”

Derek nodded and Maya held out the coffee, “Coffee?  It’s black and way too expensive, but drinkable.”

“Thank you,” Derek said grudgingly as he took the cup.

The drive to Beacon Hills was quiet, with only the soft sounds of a classic rock radio piercing the silence.  Maya amused herself with one of her new books, and Gia had her nose buried in her phone before they even left the parking lot.

Maya finished the book and looked around to find them driving through a thick forest.  She put the book away and looked out the window, “Are we almost there?”  She asked.

The Jeep rounded a curve and the Beacon Hills city limit sign came into view.  Maya gasped, “Stop the car!”  She cried.

Derek slammed on the brakes, and Maya was out of the car before he could put it in park, running to the sign.  With a rising dread, Maya stared at the infinity triangle that had been carved on the sign.  “Oh my God,” she whispered.

“Maya, what is it?”  Gia asked, grabbing her arm.

“It’s the second sign,” Maya whispered.

“What sign?”  Gia asked, “What did you see?”

Maya looked at her sister, “I saw this sign earlier today.”  She looked at the Jeep, at Derek climbing out of the car to look at them.  “Come,” she told Gia and ran back.  She fumbled in her backpack until she unearthed the CD case.  “I bought this earlier,” she said, “I’m not sure why, but _it’s the same symbol.”_

Derek to the case from her and looked at the triangle.  Then he flipped it over to see the triskele.  “Do you know what this is?”  He asked her.

“It’s a triskele, it means the beginning, middle, and end,” Maya replied.

“It’s the Hale Family mark,” Derek said.

“Do you know what the infinity triangle means?”  Maya asked quietly, watching the man carefully.

“No,” Derek replied shortly.

Maya felt a zing of triumph as the man lied to her.  She’d have to pin him down later, not when they were blocking the road.  “We should go,” she told him, “we’re blocking the road.”

Derek studied her for a moment then turned back to the Jeep.

When they were moving again, Maya cleared her throat, “I’m not a lunatic, Derek.  I’m a bit psychic.  It’s not always useful, mostly it’s like playing Blind Man’s Bluff.”  She leaned between the seats to reclaim her CD.  “I found that earlier today and I knew that I had to buy it.  There’s something important about this CD.  And seeing the infinity triangle twice, that’s a warning.”  Maya began to open the CD case, “If this symbol is related to the Hale Family, it might be a message for you.  You should listen to it too.”

“Later,” Derek said, “the CD player’s broken.”

Maya opened the case and stared at the printed triskele on the CD.  “Later then,” she said.

Gia squeezed her arm, “Are you sure you’re okay?”  She asked worriedly.

Maya shrugged, “I’m not happy about how the triangle affects me, it’s a warning through and through, it means something bad.  The triskele means something good, a promise that there is something good.  It’s not really helpful though.”

She put the CD away and looked out the window.  Beacon Hills wasn’t much different from Harwood County, although Harwood had a more beach community feel.  She wouldn’t be surprised if Beacon Hills catered to a lot of campers and hikers, surrounded by forests as it was.

They pulled up to a large condominium building and Derek parked beside an overly obnoxious purple and orange pick-up.  “Welcome to Justin’s place,” Gia said, “you’ll like it.  He has an amazing kitchen.”

“That’s more your domain than mine,” Maya replied as she slid out of the Jeep.  “Thank you for the ride, Derek.”

Derek glared at her for a moment then stalked up the walk to the building.  Maya shared an eye roll with Gia and followed him.

Justin’s apartment was rather large, Maya noticed as she walked in.  It also looked like a warzone in a designer condo, with scattered mechanical parts and scorch marks everywhere she looked.  Except for a large picture with the triskele on it on the wall opposite the door, between two huge, floor to ceiling windows.

Maya studied it for a moment, and then turned her attention to the people in the room.

There was a tall African American man with a calm expression on his face standing next to the triskele, talking to Troy.  For a moment, Maya almost dismissed the man in the sweater vest.  Then she took a second look and stopped short, causing Gia to run into her.  Maya wasn’t as sensitive to power in humans, not like Sky was, or Gia could be if she thought to look, but this man, he was like a roaring beacon fire in her mind, brimming with power.  Maya blinked twice, rapidly, and for a moment, there was a tall, white oak superimposed over the man.

Suddenly a few things snapped into place in her mind.  Auras and hints, and feelings suddenly became clear.  “Gia,” she said slowly, “we may need to leave.”

Everyone in the room was staring at them.  “What’s wrong?”  Gia asked.

The African American man stepped forward, “It’s all right,” he said, and she knew he knew her, could feel in her what she felt in him.  “You’re amongst allies here.”

“Are you sure?”  Maya asked tightly, “Are you that sure, Emissary?”

Gia gasped.

“I am sure, Wiccan,” the man replied.  “You are not amongst enemies.”

Maya’s smile was as tight as her tone, “It’s a room full of werewolves, they don’t always like people like us, regardless of the fact that we walk the right hand path.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone kills me READ THIS:
> 
> Maya and Gia are witches. They're Right Hand Path, or practice white magic. They are not omnipotent or anything else. I chose this route for reasons, some of which will be apparent later in the story, and some which tie in if I decide to write a sequel. Maya is not Jennifer Blake 2.0. I'm not planning for her and Derek to be anything more than friends.


	5. Elevator

With Maya’s words, Derek saw red.  He stormed towards Deaton, “You’re telling me that they’re _witches?”_   He demanded.

“What’s wrong with that?”  One of the girls, Maya, snapped at him.  She crossed her arms and stared at him as Derek turned around.  “I help people.  I don’t sacrifices virgins, or warriors, or teachers.  I don’t summon demons or hold séances for the unquiet dead.  I definitely don’t participate in dark revels.”

The other girl, Gia, started to snicker, but changed it to a cough when Maya kicked back and hit her shin.

“Going skyclad to a Solstice ritual is not a dark revel, Gia.  Just because you don’t do it doesn’t mean it’s evil,” Maya said, twisting to look at her sister.

“I take it you heard about the Darach then,” Scott said.  “You did say virgins, warriors, or teachers.”

“I didn’t know what it was,” Maya said, “but I recognized the sacrifices from the online story.”

“You’re still a witch,” Derek said.

“I’ll vouch for them,” Troy said.  “They’re good, Derek.  Gia, she’s the closest thing I can have to a pack and I can’t see Maya being that much different from Gia.”

Derek growled as Troy stepped in between him and the witches.  He liked Troy, of all the teenagers, Troy was both level headed and willing to follow sensible orders without playing twenty questions.  Derek had kept the boy close after he’d learned Jackson was the Kanima, but Troy had made a place in the pack on his own.  Troy’s blind idealism and inability to see his friends in a poor light grated on Derek at times, especially when, like now and with the Kanima, his friends were a danger to the safety of the pack of left alone.

“I’ll vouch for them,” Justin said.

Derek stared as his friend stepped beside Troy.  “You’ll what?”  He asked finally.

“I’ll vouch for them,” Justin said.  “Derek, if you can’t trust Troy, and you don’t want to trust Gia and Maya, then trust me.  Have I ever let you down?”

They both knew it was the worst thing for Justin to say.

“Enough,” Scott said, and Derek felt the Alpha’s command in his voice.  “We’ll give them a chance, because we have enough enemies around right now.  Besides, I don’t know what all a witch can do, but maybe you can do something to help us out.”

Derek watched Scott for a moment.  He really needed to talk to him about pack dynamics.  Derek had kept his head down for the most part, unwilling to push too hard when Scott was so new to his strength, lacking an anchor, and stressed by Stiles being possessed.  The few, very conflicting stories Derek could remember about True Alphas made him cautious about directly countering Scott.

Realizing he’d been staring, Derek averted his eyes, “Whatever.”

Unwilling to remain in the same room as the two witches, he stormed past them, slamming the door behind him with a spectacular crash.  He thought he might have broken it and promised himself to make it up to Justin if he did.

As the doors to the elevator started to close, Justin ducked onto the elevator, looking pissed off.  “What the hell was that?”

“What was what?”  Derek asked.

“You.  In there.”  Justin snapped as he punched the button for Derek’s floor.  “You never had a problem with Sam or Kasey back in New York.  As I remember it, Sam was your favorite non-pack member that we knew and it didn’t sound like you and Kasey were killing each other up in your bedroom either.”

Derek’s cheeks went warm at the reminder, then he glared at Derek, “Sam and Kasey never lied about being Wiccan.”

“Neither did Maya,” Justin said.  “She kept it quiet because she didn’t know we were werewolves.”

“Why did you vouch for them anyway?”  Derek asked.

“Because I thought you’d trust me,” Justin replied quietly.

Derek punched the elevator wall, “Dammit Justin.  The last time you told me something would be fine…”

“Laura died,” Justin said.  “This is nothing like Laura.”

“You said everything would be fine, that Laura would be back in a few days.  You told me to stay at Harvard!”  Derek said.

“Because the information I had, even with variables and outliers said that Laura would be fine.  You don’t know that either of us being here would have saved her,” Justin snapped back.

“I could have done something.  I could have kept her from leaving.”  Derek said as the elevator door opened.

“She had to go,” Justin said as he followed Derek off the elevator.

“What do you mean by that?”  Derek asked, turning to stare at Justin.

“Beacon Hills is traditional Hale territory.  If Peter had been in his right mind, or at least active in the territory rather than comatose, Laura would have never had to come back to Beacon Hills and it would be her territory.  Because Laura wanted to come back, and Peter was incapacitated, she had to make appearances here and do Alpha stuff.”

“Why didn’t she tell me that?”  Derek asked, “We could have figured something out.”

“She tried,” Justin said, “and as soon as she said visit Beacon Hills you jammed your fingers in your ears and screamed la, la, la because you didn’t want anything to do with Beacon Hills that first year.”  He slammed the door open.  “Laura came back twice a year for an overnight stay.  I went with her most of the time, but Tyler went with her, and even Petra came over once when we all went to Mexico that one time.  Laura was going to explain this to you when she got back, it’s just that something happened and she left early.  I was in Japan, remember?  Tyler couldn’t clear his client list, and everyone else had school.  We thought she’d be fine because we’d seen no sign of trouble in six years.  It was just for three days, longer than usual, but Laura knew how to keep her head down.  We didn’t know that Peter was physically capable even if his brain was second best to a mushroom.  I saw Peter on the visit before, just five months before Laura died, and I would have sworn that the only thing he was good for was a speed bump.”

“You know, I’m standing right here.”

It was a testament to Justin’s self control that his only reaction to what Derek thought was probably an all consuming urge to kill was a twitch and a hint of amber eyes.

“Peter,” Justin said, “one day I will see you dead.  I’m not going to kill you because I promised Derek, but one day you will be lying dead at me feet.  On that day, I will dismember you.  I will render you down into your component parts.  Then, I will burn each piece individually and put it in a box.  Finally, I will take those boxes onto the Astro Megaship and jettison each box into a different star or black hole.  Until that day comes, I want you to know that I always know where you are, and if I say something about you, and you hear it, I wanted you to.”

“Back off,” Derek grunted.  “Peter, go home or something.  Don’t go upstairs though, Troy brought a couple of witches along for the funeral apparently.”

“Witches,” Peter said, “interesting.”

“Leave them alone,” Derek said.  “Gia’s underage and Maya will probably slap you with a fork if you try something.”

Justin looked at Derek for a long moment.  “Derek, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing.”

Derek groaned, because he _knew better_ than to give Justin an opening.  At least this time it wasn’t in front of Stiles.  That had been an interesting twelve hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skyclad means nude


	6. Chatter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's mostly chatter. A few things I wanted to clarify for reasons. The next chapter should get back to the real plot. Also hi! I'm writing again!

After Justin chased Derek out of the loft, there was a long moment of awkward silence.  Stiles noted that Scott, Isaac, and Malia were exchanging nervous glances and wondered what they were hearing in the hallway.

Deciding that he didn’t like awkward silences, Stiles cleared his throat, "So," he said when everyone looked at him, "I guess the question here is, are you a good witch or a bad witch?"

Maya laughed, "A good witch.  I swear that by the Goddess.  I don't know what I can actually do to help, you've got an Emissary already, but I'll help as much as I can."

"She likes being useful," Gia said casually.  "And she's really good with patterns and puzzles."

"Which can be useful," Scott cut in.  Stiles thought he looked annoyed more than anything.  "Maya, I'm Scott McCall, the local Alpha.  That was Justin who went after Derek and who owns the condos.  Over at the bar is my best friend Stiles."

Stiles waved, and pretended Maya wasn't looking at him oddly.

"Our Emissary is Deaton," Scott continued, "This is Isaac, one of my Betas."  Stiles tried not to snort when Isaac puffed up a bit at being  _Scott's Beta._   After the Scott-and-Allison show, Isaac's puppy love for both Scott and Allison had been the most saccharine thing to happen to Beacon Hills.  "Last, but most definitely not least, this is Malia and Kira.  Malia is a werecoyote and Kira is a Kitsune.  There are two other betas and a banshee who are technically in the pack, but they're not here."

“I’m not going to stay much longer,” Deaton said, “I mostly came to convey my condolences.  I know I’ve given you the day off Scott, Isaac, but that doesn’t mean the animals don’t need to be fed.”  He nodded to the room as a whole, “I will see you at work.  Ms. Maya, Ms. Gia, if you need any assistance in your workings, I will be happy to provide all the help that I can.”

Stiles blinked as both girls bowed to Deaton.  “Thank you,” Maya murmured, looking pleased and happy as they all watched the vet leave the room.

“You talk to him,” Gia told her sister, shoving her shoulder.  “You like formalities.”  She trotted over to sit by Emma, who kissed her cheek.

Stiles's phone rang, making him jerk and then grab the counter to keep from falling.  "Hi?"  He said after a moment.

"Stiles."

"Dad, whatever it is, I didn't do it!  I haven't left Justin's yet!"  Stiles said, then grabbed the counter as he almost fell off his barstool again.  He’d been told he’d grow into himself some day, but clearly, that day was not coming about after being possessed by an evil fox spirit.

"That's good, because someone just called saying they saw you and some ninjas down in the warehouse district."  Sheriff Stilinski replied, sounding tired.  "We had to send a deputy out to see what was going on, so stay at Justin's.  You and I both know the kind of security he keeps on that building."

"I'll stay," Stiles said, he glanced up as Justin came in.  "But you said that someone saw me  _with ninjas_  down at the warehouse district?"  It was the best way he knew to catch Justin’s attention, and the man had been complaining about them not seeing the Nogitsune at all lately.

"Yes," Sheriff Stilinski replied.

Justin strode over, "May I speak with your dad, Stiles?"  He asked.

"Uh, okay.  Dad, Justin wants to talk to you."  Stiles said and handed over the phone.  It was usually easier to just hand over the phone and let someone else explain or he’d spend ten minutes explain thing.

"Sheriff," Justin said, "are you at your computer?  Good.  I need you to look something up on the Lightspeed site.  The verification code is Alpha Delta Beta Bravo Omega Stewart dash 2 mountain blaster.  Yes sir.  Yes sir.  There is a link for the 'Victims of Villainous Mind Control' section.  Yes sir.  Two weeks ago.  You know my opinion of Agent fucking McCall, I'd love to see him get around this one.  Also, I need to invoke Protocol Fall Down.  It should be there on the screen.  I'll be happy to provide as complete a report as possible later, I just want to make sure that nobody's accused of something they shouldn't be.  I'll hand you back to Stiles now."

Stiles took the phone back, “Hey Dad.”

“Stiles,” the sheriff said, still tired but not as worn down as he had sounded.  “I just wanted to warn you that the Nogitsune’s out and about.  I’ll be working late today.”

“I know,” Stiles said, “if I don’t stay here, I’ll probably crash with Scott.  I think Justin’s angling for a group sleep over though.”

“Just let me know,” the sheriff said.

“I’ll text you,” Stiles promised.  “Love you dad.”

“Love you too.”

Stiles hung up and looked at Justin, “What did you do?”

Justin smirked, “I took advantage of some connections and got you protection under the Green Ranger Laws.”

“How?  We don’t have a ranger team,”  Stiles replied.  When Justin raised his eyebrows, Stiles waved his hand and shrugged, “I looked into it because I wanted to see if Kate and Gerard could be counted as villains.”

“Unfortunately, they can’t,” Justin said.  “And that’s a misleading word, team.  A Ranger team is defined by existing active morphers.  Usually that means three or more morphers working in consort.  Note that I said usually.  After all, Andros of KO-35 spent two years on his own before he met the Turbo Rangers.  Zhane was in cryo, two of his teammates were dead and the other two gave up their powers rather than be captured with them.  Analyn can’t take the morpher back either way, her arm had to be amputated because it was too badly damaged and Jos wouldn’t take up the morpher again without her.  To get you protected by the laws, all we needed was a Ranger with an active morpher to have a run in with the Nogitsune.”

Stiles wanted to ask about the Astro Rangers, because he thought he’d heard some of that about Andros and Zhane, but the other two, Analyn and Jos.  He’d never heard those names before.

“Hey Justin,” Isaac said, “Uncle Z’s on the phone for you.”

“Coming,” Justin said.

Stiles watched Justin walk away, then watched as Troy sidled up to him.  “What?”  Stiles asked.

“Are you okay?”  Troy asked.

Stiles shrugged, “I’m fine, Troy.”

Troy raised his eyebrows, “If you say so.  I’m sorry I haven’t been here.”

“Hey, no offense, but your parents are, and have always been, off.  I’m not surprised they whisked you off after they got you back,” Stiles said, he tried smiling at the other teen.  “You’re their little miracle baby after all.”

“Not anymore,” Troy said with a snort.  “Not since Dad realized we weren’t genetically related.”

“He didn’t know?”  Stiles asked, “It’s always been obvious to me.”

“You and everyone but my dad,” Troy said.  “Dad can’t have kids, and they were desperate, so Mom secretly went to a fertility clinic.  Then my cousin got sick and they tested me for a bone marrow transplant and the cat was out of the bag.”

“Wow,” Stiles said, “that’s just, wow.”

“It’s not on par with being possessed by a fox spirit,” Troy said, “but it was pretty exciting for a while.”

Stiles glanced over Tory’s shoulder for a moment, “I think they’re discussing sleeping plans.  If you don’t mind, I need to see if I’m staying with Scott or not.”

“Sure,” Troy said, “go ahead.”

Stiles slid off the bench and hurried over to where Scott and Justin were talking quietly.  They had the intense sort of look that promised something bad or interesting was going down.  Stiles hoped for interesting, but he knew their luck meant it would probably be something bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently it's a thing to tell people you have a tumblr. So, I has a tumblr. Enjoy! http://guardian-of-hope.tumblr.com/


	7. New York

The address Justin had given him turned out to be a one-story house with a pair of moving vans out front.  Isaac, Aidan, and Ethan were walking out the front door when Scott pulled in the drive.  “Hey Scott,” Isaac said cheerfully.  “Is Justin drafting you in too?”

“Uh,” Scott said as he pulled off his helmet, “maybe.  Do you know where he is?”

“Yeah, he’s in the back bedroom setting up the girls’ bedroom.”  Isaac pointed into the house, “straight back past the living room.  Just follow the muttered gibberish.”

Even Scott could hear Justin snarl, “It’s not gibberish Isaac.  Scott, come on back.  Don’t let them drag you into helping.”

Scott hurried up the stairs, trying not to blush when he heard Aidan ask Ethan, “Which one’s the Alpha again?”

“It’s called _respect_ Aidan,” Justin called.  “Just because you don’t trust and or respect the pack doesn’t mean that your packmates don’t feel that way.”

Both twins blushed as Scott passed them.  He let his eyes go red, and they all but ran off the porch.  Isaac shook his head and followed, leaping the four stairs easily.  Scott looked around the living room as he passed; it was dated, but clean and nice.  “So,” he said as he found the hallway back, “what are you guys doing this for?”

“An old friend,” Justin replied.  “He wants to get out of New York and we’re pretty much the only people he knows.”

Scott turned into an open door and found Justin setting up a bookshelf.  There was a bunk bed already assembled and a stack of wood of different sizes leaning against the wall by the window.  “And you said not to tell Derek?”

“Well yeah,” Justin said, “we thought it would be a nice surprise, what with Derek’s birthday coming up and all.  You said you had questions?”

Scott shrugged, “Yeah, but can I help?  I feel weird just standing here.”

Justin pointed at the wood, “That’s supposed to be four chairs and a table, but I can’t figure it out.  If you want to start on that, I’d be happy.”

“I just wanted to know how important all these pack positions are,” Scott said as he studied the stacks of wood.

“It depends on the Alpha Council mostly,” Justin said, “California’s more laidback than the East Coast about roles.  Laura said for her mom, it was enough that people were Named and knew what to do.  They mostly just did what was needed as it came up.  The two things you need to remember are that the Hale Pack was older than Beacon Hills and you’re a True Alpha.  People are going to be watching you more than they normally watch young Alphas.”

“Well,” Scott said, “I know you’re the Warden.  It had your name written all over it.”

Justin snickered.  “I’d be happy to accept the position, Alpha.”

“Well, what about the other positions?  You made suggestions, I know, like Stiles as Lorekeeper and my mom as Consort.  This still sounds weird, by the way.”  Scott looked over at Justin, “I guess I could ask Lydia to be my Stewart, but the Castellan position.”

Justin set the bookshelf against the wall and turned to look at Scott.  “I have a suggestion,” he said, “but I want you to think about it before you say yes.”

“Okay,” Scott said.

“The man renting this house?  His name is Tyler Hale; he was Laura’s husband-mate-partner-person, along with their daughters.”  Justin eased down on the bunk bed with a sigh, “Derek’s the only family Tyler has.  However, Tyler’s not the only one.  Laura had a pack in New York.  Most of them are happy to say with the new Alpha, but there are three betas who want to come out too.  I understand that you might not be comfortable with having three more betas Derek’s age, but there’s a traditional solution.”

“What kind of solution?”  Scott asked, putting down the board he’d been moving and sitting down beside Justin.

“Hire them as tutors,” Justin said.  “Petra’s a classically trained Castellan, Wren was Laura’s Steward, and she just graduated with a degree in accounting and is a certified CPA.  Bring them out here as teachers, to help you with your pack.  On the one hand, that could be a thing that happens, but on the other, you might decide that you like the Derek-and-Mik comedy hour and Petra’s Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte so much that you formally accept them as pack.”

“I doubt a part time job at the vet could pay for that,” Scott said.

“I’ll pay,” Justin said.  “I mean, I have the money.  In addition, having Wren here would be a help since she’s _my_ accountant and has been for years.  I’m happy invest in a seed account for the pack if Wren were to oversee its formation.”

Scott looked at Justin for a moment.  If it had been Derek… he eyed Justin, “Yes,” he said.  “Invite your pack out here.”

Justin raised his eyebrows at Scott.

“Maybe I’m not their Alpha, yet,” Scott said, “but they’re your pack aren’t they?”

Justin chuckled, “Yeah, they are.  Thank you.”

Scott looked back at the room, “How old are the children?”

“Well, Petra’s twins are just turned six,” Justin said, “that’s Faith and Melody, and they’re both werewolves.  Niki, Nikita, is five, and Talia is two.  They’re both werewolves.  Mik’s son Dietrich just had his first birthday last month, but he’s human.”

Scott frowned, “Okay,” he said slowly.

Justin chuckled, “Sorry, I meant to ease you into that part.”

“Would I…”  Scott hesitated, suddenly terrified at the thought of what might be expected of him when it came to children.

“Mostly they might ask you to babysit,” Justin said, “maybe ask you to participate in Princess Tea Parties.  Niki likes cars, so she’ll be very interested in your bike.  As young as they are, Scott, they don’t need an Alpha.  They need parents, which they have.  By the time they need an Alpha, you’ll already be someone they respect and look up to, so long as you spend time with them now.  Talk to Derek or Petra, or god help me, talk to Peter if you want a good perspective on dealing with cubs, or let me get you some contact info for a couple of wolf parents back in New York.”

“Okay,” Scott said.  “I, I’d appreciate that.”

Justin nodded, “Just don’t let them tell you how to Alpha, okay?  Because this isn’t New York City.”

“I’ll remember that,” Scott said.

Someone slammed into the house, “Justin!  Scott!”  Isaac shouted.

“What’s wrong?”  Scott called back as Justin stood up.

Isaac skidded to a stop at the door.  “Deaton just called.  Maya went over there to try to look for Jake, and something happened.  He’s having her brought to the hospital, but he said Justin needed to be there.”

“Shit,” Justin said.  “Yeah, I do.”

“I’m going to,” Scott said.

Justin threw something at Isaac, keys, “You’re driving.  I need to make some calls.”

“Can I ride with?”  Scott asked.

“Sure,” Justin said, “Just don’t talk to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize how complicated this story was going to become. I am now aware. Please note there are updated tags.


	8. A New York State of Mind

Justin slammed his truck door, “According to Deaton, she was scrying a trouble area when the backlash happened,” he said to Scott, who was climbing out of Stiles’s jeep.

“But she’ll be okay?”  Scott said, worried.

“She’ll be fine,” Justin said, “she just needs to heal.  The good news is that we know exactly where in the trouble spot she was hunting when it blew.  That might be our first real clue.  We have coordinates at which to point our satellites.”

“All right,” Scott said, “it’s just that she got hurt for us.”

“And I’ll handle her medical expenses,” Justin replied.  “It’s common for wolf packs to handle medical matters privately.”

“Thank you,” Scott said.

Derek grunted, “We’ll figure out how to seed your pack, Scott.  These are the types of things pack money is made to handle.”

“If you’re sure,” Scott said slowly.

Stiles finished locking the jeep and ran to catch up as they headed inside.  He detoured over to claim a handful of chocolates from the older woman at the front desk with a charming smile, then crowded onto the elevator behind Isaac and Scott.

“Scott, just go with it,” Stiles said, handing him a chocolate.  “I’m sure things will work out.”

“Right,” Scott said slowly.

Justin’s phone dinged and he pulled it out to read the text message, and he laughed.  Then he glanced up and began to whistle cheerfully, and loudly.  It took Stiles to place the melody as American Pie, but when he glanced at Derek, he had to stuff a chocolate in his mouth to keep from laughing at Derek’s obvious horror at the song.

As the elevator doors slid open, Derek almost whimpered.

“Uncle Derek!”  A squealing trio of dark haired girls burst between Stiles and Scott and threw themselves on Derek.  Derek hastily knelt down as Scott and Stiles edged out of the elevator.

Stiles raised his eyebrows at Scott and mouthed Uncle Derek, but Scott just shook his head and nodded towards Derek’s loft.  They headed over together to find the place now teemed with life in the form of four adults.  Justin appeared between them and grinned, “Have any trouble finding the place?”

“I do know how to use GPS,” one of the two women said, flicking her waist length, black braid over her shoulder.  “It’s not like we’re complete babes in the woods.”

Stiles frowned a little as the two hugged.  Then the other women jumped on Justin’s back, shoulder length, blond hair obscuring her face as she leaned forward.  “That plane was amazing, Justin.  I can’t believe you bought that one.  I mean, I know you did, but I can’t believe you actually listened to me.”

“Easy Wren,” Justin said with a laugh.  “Why don’t you go save Derek from the girls, okay?  Then we can introduce each other.

The woman slid down, sketched a short bow to Scott and ran out the door.

“How much coffee did she have?”  Justin asked as he hugged the dark haired woman again.

“Two cups,” the woman said, “I threatened her with decaf after that.”

Justin nodded and stepped over to shake hands with a young, brown haired man who had a toddler on his hip, “Mik, how was your plane ride?”

“It was good,” the man said.  “We had special drops for Dietrich, so he slept the whole flight.”

“Wise man,” Justin said, gripping his bicep for a moment.  “You always did have common sense.”

“I learned it from you,” Mik replied.

Justin shook his head as he stepped away to hug the sandy haired man in a pea coat.  They hugged tightly in the way of family; with no sense of embarrassment as Justin half buried his face in the man’s neck.  Whatever the two of them said, Stiles couldn’t say, but he noticed that Scott looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Then Derek and Wren were back with the three girls, and a tiny girl peered around Justin and the other man for a moment, sucking her thumb.  Derek glanced at Scott as he passed, smiling as he went to one knee.  “Hey Talia,” he said gently, “remember me?”

The little girl inched out from behind Justin, staring at Derek, and then at Scott, then at Derek again.  Then she ran forward, throwing herself into Derek’s arms with a grin around her thumb, and confidence that Derek would catch her.  Derek stood up, swinging her up and over his head as he spun in a circle.

“Dad?”  Isaac said carefully as he hovered in the door.

Justin stepped away from the man he’d been hugging and smiled at Isaac, “Its okay, Isaac.  This- these are the New York guys.”  He gave Derek a fond smile, “Happy early birthday, Derek.”

Stiles couldn’t see Derek’s expression but there was something about the way he tilted his head and set his shoulders that made Stiles wonder if he was actually smiling.

“Right,” Justin clapped his hands, “quick introductions.  This is Tyler,” he slung his arm around the man he had hugged; “the guy with the kid is Mik.  The lovely ladies are Petra and Wren, and the cubs are Faith, Melody, Nikita, Talia, and Dietrich.  Everyone, this is Alpha Scott McCall, his Emissary in training, Stiles Stilinski, and my son Isaac.”

“Nice to meet you,” Scott said, “welcome to Beacon Hills.  You’ll have to excuse us; we’re in a bit of a crisis mode at the moment.  I hope we can find time later to actually get to know one another.”

“Justin told us about the Nogitsune,” Tyler said, “if we can help in anyway?”

Scott laughed bitterly, “There’s nothing we can really do until we find the bastard.”  He glanced at Stiles, who heard what Scott couldn’t say, _and we’re running out of time._

“Then there’s the other emergency,” Justin added, “I told you about Troy right?”

“The human kid in the Kanima mess?”  Petra said.

“Yeah him,” Justin said, “his parents moved him out of Beacon Hills, but he came back when we lost Allison with some friends for moral support.  One of his friends has been kidnapped, and then the magical help they brought in was injured this morning while scrying for him.  She’ll be fine, it’s just backlash.”

Wren shuddered, “Nasty that.”

“Speaking of,” Scott said, “Derek, you had a map?”

“On the table,” Derek said as he swung the littlest girl, Talia, onto his shoulders as she giggled.  “I left it on the table.”

“We didn’t touch anything,” Petra said, “although I do wonder that you call this place… habitable.”

“It’s a work in progress,” Derek and Justin said in unison.

“I see,” Petra said.

Scott headed for the table, “If you’ll excuse me,” he murmured as he slid around Mik.

“Of course,” Mik said in a heavy German accent.

Stiles followed Scott quickly, casting uneasy glances at the older werewolves.  When he caught up to Scott, he raised his eyebrows.

Scott held his hands up helplessly, “Justin wanted it to be a surprise for Derek.  These guys were Laura’s betas, and they wanted to come out here.  I couldn’t say no.”

“You could have warned me,” Stiles replied as he leaned on the table and stared over the map.  Scott took out his phone and pulled up the picture of the map that Maya had been using.

“Sorry,” Scott said, “I didn’t really think about it.  I told Justin to do it and that was it.”  He grinned at Stiles, “You should like that he’s competent at least.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Stiles replied.  He still wasn’t sure he was over the whole _you have to make your choice and stick with it_ speech Justin had given him after Scott was bitten.  It had been unnecessary, because Stiles didn’t _abandon his friends_ just because they got harry on the full moon.

“Anything I can do to help?”  Tyler asked, half leaning over the table.

“Not at the moment,” Scott said politely.  “We’re trying to figure out where Maya, the witch, was scrying before she got hurt.  She narrowed it down for us, we think.”

“Ah,” Tyler said.  “Well, if I can help, I’ll be happy to.  I’m not that bad at maps.”

Scott smiled, “I’ll let you know, Doctor Hale.”

“Justin told you about that?”  Tyler said.

“I Googled you, actually,” Scott said.

“Well, that’s just a bit misleading, Alpha,” Tyler said.

“Scott,” Scott said.  “Call me Scott.  I’m not…” he hesitated.

Tyler nodded, “Scott.  Call me Tyler unless you decide you _want_ to talk about your experiences.”  Again, a single raised eyebrow, “I specialize in the Bite and Bite Trauma, actually.  I help people decide of being a werewolf is something they actually want for themselves, and I help those who had no agency in their change.  It’s a relatively new field, but I’ve actually found that some older disciplines help with Bite Trauma.  I also do general supernatural work and mundane psychiatry.”

“Cool,” Stiles said.  Then looked down at the image on Scott’s phone, shifting slightly closer to Scott as he did so on the pretense of looking at the image.  He wasn’t sure he was up for dealing with a mental health professional after his experiences at Aiken House.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Scott said, slinging his arm over Stiles’s shoulders.  “Maybe when things calm down.”

Stiles smiled as he followed one of the roads on the paper map.  With the Nemeton acting as a beacon for the supernatural, it was entirely likely that the town of Beacon Hills would _never_ be calm again.

“Yes, right, of course,” Tyler said.

They all winced at a sudden piercing shriek.

“And that would be Talia, if you’ll excuse me,” Tyler said and backed away.

Stiles thought he might could like Tyler at least.  Time would tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how long this is going to go, but I have a lot of it in rough draft status, sort of. I'm working to make it a cohesive whole. In the mean time, no, I couldn't resist the title.
> 
>  
> 
> If you look at the top, you'll notice this story is part of two series. It is the first of the "Trouble" series, of which there are at least three stories planned after this. (I can't decided if I want the more Power Rangers involved story to go next, or the more Teen Wolf involved story (the fourth is totally about season 4, but I haven't worked it out yet.)
> 
> The second series is called Reconstruction. It is the first of the Arcs about Laura, Derek, and their New York Pack. It's basically the Origin Story for the people that just appeared here. At the moment, we've met everyone listed here but Tyler, who won't show up until the follow on to the titular story, a short story called A Coffee Romance, that I think will amuse people when it comes out. The short version for each character is this:
> 
> Petra- Laura's second beta, born wolf from a morally questionable pack. Mother of twins (Melody Harmony and Faith Hope), trained as a Castellan (poisoner, den mother, child protector/caregiver, den warden... not the housekeeper/maid/chef as a primary role). Legally a Hale as are the girls.
> 
> Tyler- Laura's husband-partner-mate-person (because they never found a word they liked to describe their relationship), human born to a wolf pack and disowned, psychiatrist, father of Nikita and Talia.
> 
> Mik- Michael Shafer- German immigrant, bitten beta, former next door neighbor to the Hales. (Son, Dietrich)
> 
> Wren- Wren Livingston- bitten beta, had a difficult home life, good with finances and numbers, bad with chemistry.


	9. Ten Minutes

Scott stared at the land, “So what are you thinking?”  He asked Justin.

“Wren and I want to invest pack money into this property.  After we clear the existing buildings, we plan to develop commercially, a shopping center in an area that borders the other residences and providing retail opportunities to an area lacking in such opportunities.  There will also be land enough for us to build a gated community specifically for the pack, allowing us to be close, but also allowing us to be separate enough to protect us from arson.  The land we’d use backs up to the preserve, so it would be very easy to access the woods on full moon nights if we so desired.  If we get all the land, we could even provide some more standard housing, or even apartments, if we wanted.”  Justin said as he kicked at a week growing up from the broken pavement of the parking lot.

“What type of commercial properties?”  Stiles asked as he watched Niki, Melody and Faith chase each other around one of the cars.

“Clothing stories, a grocery store, even one of the bigger named pharmacies indicated an interest when we felt them out for space.  Wren and Tyler would be among the people who could rent the upstairs offices as well,” Justin said.  “The rent all goes back into the pack accounts, helping them to grow.  Derek’s arranging for several of the commonly held commercial and rental properties to be resigned over to the new pack for a percentage of the rent over the next five years.”

“Huh,” Scott said.  “You know I don’t know much about all of this.”

“The idea is sound,” Justin said, “but the money for this; it can only be used with your permission.  That’s why we came out here.  Besides, if we take out these warehouses, then there will be fewer places for the supernatural to hide.”

“Right,” Scott said.  He started to nodded, “I’m willing to go along with this as long as you and Wren are sure it won’t cause any problems.”

“None at all,” Justin said firmly.  “You really want to buy the land?”

“Sure,” Scott said.  He glanced at Justin a minute, “You really think this is a good idea?”

Whether Justin would say it was a good idea or not, a child’s scream of fear snapped them all back to the present just as Wren roared and was answered by an alpha.

“Goddamn Alpha Pack,” Justin snarled, already shifting.

“Justin,” Scott said, “can you get the kids out of here, please?  They don’t need to see anything that might happen.”

Justin hesitated, and then nodded, “On it.”  He ran for the children and Scott glanced at Stiles, who was already spreading a circle of mountain ash around himself.

Stiles glanced up, “I’m not leaving, you guys might need me.”  He pulled out a pair of vials, one a clear purple and the other clear with a red cork.

SECTION BREAK

Justin wasn’t sure how he’d ended up with not only the children, but with Peter and the twins, but he had.  They had each grabbed the nearest child and ran into the warehouses, grouping up and heading in unspoken agreement towards the more residential neighborhoods.

Justin had spotted four Alphas following them, all of them easily as tall as he was, and easily broader in the shoulders.  Generally, they were larger than Justin, who towered over Peter and was even a few inches over Aidain and Ethan.  There was no way four betas would be able to handle them, not with the children to protect.

Justin yanked his phone out as they ran and hit the emergency button.  There was more than one way to skin a cat.

“Ranger base.”

“Emergency ID confirm,” Justin barked.  “Justin Stewart, Blue Turbo.  I need emergency evac, four children and four adults on my location.  Priority Alpha Blue.  Confirm.”

“Uh, hold on.”

Justin swore in Eltarean, “We don’t have time for that!”

“Sorry,” a new voice said, “first shift.  Okay, we can pull you out, but we need you to be holding still.”

“Wait, what?”  Justin said.

“ _Someone_ spilledsoda on the console.  Actually, they were supposed to contact you about it today.  We can pull you out, but you need to hold still, and we’ll need some time to calibrate when you do.  No more than ten minutes.”

“Ten-“ Justin looked at the twins, and at Peter.  Peter clearly understood that something was wrong, although the twins just looked confused.  Then Justin scanned the street they were on and spotted a blocked off alley.  “There,” he pointed, “go down there,” he ordered them.  “Ethan, take Faith.”  He thrust the girl he carried at Ethan, who took her.

“What are you doing?”  Ethan asked.

“They need ten minutes to teleport you guys out,” Justin said.  “I can buy you that time.”  He reached into his pocket for his key.  He hated morphing.  He hated fighting while morphing, but there were more important things than his mental health.

He frowned and fished in his pocket, but his key wasn’t there.  “What,” he said, hearing the Alphas behind him.

“Justin,” Peter said.

“My key, my Turbo key,” Justin said, “I don’t…”  He remembered.

_He opened the beautifully carved blue, wooden box that held his morpher as the shower steam curled around him.  He stared at the device that held his greatest joy and greatest sorrow.  Then he shut the box and turned away._

“I don’t have it,” He murmured.

“Justin,” Peter said, catching his attention.  “You stay here, second line.”

“Peter,” Justin began.

“No, I can hear those Alphas coming, and they won’t stop until they get me or the twins.  I’ll go out there, and they’ll be so busy sniffing after me that they won’t notice you.”  Peter said.

“Peter, that’s suicide,” Justin began.

“No,” Peter said, shoving Nikita to the twins.  “I did horrible things, and I don’t always find it in me to regret them.”  He looked at Nikita and Talia.  “Let me have these ten minutes to do the right thing.”  He paused and looked at Justin, “I hope you can fulfill your promise, because I really don’t want to come back to this again.  I have too many people waiting.”

Justin stared as Peter ran back the way they’d come, then his phone buzzed.

Justin stuck it to his ear, “Justin here.”

“All right, I’m tracking four children, three adults,” the voice said.

“Yes,” Justin said slowly, “yes, that’s right.”

“All right,” the voice said.  “I’m locking on and calibrating now.”

A wolf’s howl of pain ripped through the air and Justin shuddered as teleportation whisked them away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to add the scene where Peter actually meets his great-neices. I could add it as a side story later if you want.
> 
> I wanted Peter to go out leaving mixed feelings behind.


	10. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay guys. NaNo is a thing, right?
> 
> Good news: I have HANDWRITTEN the majority of this story.
> 
> Bad news: Transcribing/editing is very slow going right this second.

Justin stared out the window of his new office at the Preserve and smiled.  He loved that he had an unobstructed view of the forests, it made a stressful position seem less stressful.  It also provided a soothing backdrop when the memory of Peter’s final moments intruded.  Justin hated that Peter had somehow managed to show true regret in that last moment.  It would have been easier to hate Peter Hale if he had never shown regret.

A light flashed on the sill, an alert from his security system and Justin’s smile became slightly more pronounced.  “Gentlemen,” he said, spinning his chair around, “My lady.”  He laced his fingers together in his best impersonation of a Bond villain, “What brings you to my office?  I wasn’t aware that Blue Mountain had made your list.”

The three thieves stared at him and Justin raised his eyebrows.

“Oh yes, I know who you are.  Mister Hardison, I trust the hotel’s wifi was sufficient for your needs.  If it wasn’t let me know and I’ll inform the manager.  Lady Parker, I hope you found the security around here challenging enough, if not let me know how I can make it more of a challenge.  And Mister Spencer,” Justin eyed the man for a long moment, “I trust we can end this meeting without bloodshed, I’ve been given to understand your ribs are only just mended.”

“How did you know we were coming?”  Hardison asked.

“That was the easy part,” Justin replied, “I know someone who is a true connoisseur of beer.  She says you have one of the better microbreweries in the Pacific Northwest, although you needed some time to get the kinks worked out.”  He unlinked his hands and stood up, “So why don’t we sit down and you explain to me why you are here.  If my people have done something to put me on your radar, I’d like to correct the issue immediately.”

“Actually,” Spencer said, “Will Aston told us to contact you when we told him we needed to know about the area.  We’ve been on a long term assignment connected with a facility named Alphabet Soup.”

“Emma Johanason,” Justin nodded, he gestured to the sitting area in an alcove of the office.  “I’ve been aware of the situation, but I’m not as in the loop as I could be.  I retired for a reason.  Are you saying that Alphabet Soup is in Beacon Hills?”

“No,” Hardison said as they sat down.  “From what we’ve found, the Soup isn’t up and running yet, but there are other facilities that are.  We tracked down one of them about two years ago and located a pair of toddlers.”

“Elizabeth and Jack,” Justin said, “they were experimenting on them.”

“Right,” Hardison said.  “This facility is code named the Zoo, and from what we can tell, there’s more than just genetic experimentation going on there.”  He held up a small drive, “We brought what we have, but I was hoping, you’re the man who built Blue Mountain.  You work with the Rangers more than any other independent company.  I need help getting through their firewall.”

Justin nodded and stood up, “Come with me and we can get started.  Since this may take a while, Mister Spencer, Lady Parker, you’re welcome to ask my secretary for distractions, including access to the training area.”

As he led Hardison out of the office, Justin reflected that it was the only thing he regretted about being a Ranger.  Even when he struggled to get out of the way, he was always drawn into the Rangers’ drama.  Of course, Justin thought that as long as he clung to his brother, he would be aware of the Rangers.

Justin sighed, then startled when Hardison cleared his throat.  “I can’t actually hack your work, Doctor Stewart.  You’ve got a very impressive security encryption algorithm.”

“Please, call me Justin,” Justin said.  “And I’m not surprised.  I use a mixed language base algorithm, and not all of the languages are Earth based.”

“What do you mean?”  Hardison asked.

“It’s because I’ve worked with off planet programmers.  I know the Astros, and I’ve done a lot of contract work with Lightspeed.  I learned some different alien languages and use them.”  Justin said.

“Man that’s so weird,” Hardison said.  “There are people out there trying to contact good aliens and you…”

“I’m best friends with a couple,” Justin said with a grin.  “Believe me, Mister Hardison, I’m well aware of my luck in that regard.”

“Call me Alex,” Hardison said.

Justin pulled open the door to one of the computer labs, “All right Alex, if you’ll step in here, we’ll be able to see what’s happening in the world.”


	11. Nogitsune Strikes Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That chapter was so short, I had to do a second chapter.

Sheriff Stilinski stared at the file, unable to absorb the report on the results of a string of car thefts.  He kept remembering the video showing Stiles, _his Stiles,_ robbing a gas station, one of a string of robberies that had taken place in the past twenty-four hours.  He’d tried to brush it off, he’d seen other brunets with moles, it couldn’t be Stiles, or his doppelganger form.  It just couldn’t be possible.  Then the video had surfaced.  It had to be the doppelganger, given the lack of dark circles under his eyes, but John just couldn’t see a way to explain that it wasn’t his son, but an ancient, evil fox spirit that just happened to look like his son.

“Excuse me, Sheriff,” Parrish said as he slid open John’s door.

“Sorry,” John said, “I’m almost finished.”

“That’s all right,” Parrish said, “truth is, we can’t find your son.  Do you have any suggestions about where he might be?”

John reached for his phone, “Let me try something.”

“Agent McCall already tried Scott,” Parrish said, he grinned a little, “Scott hung up on him before he finished saying hello.”

“Good for him,” John said as he dialed Stiles’s number.

“Hey Dad,” Stiles said a moment later.

“Stiles, where are you?”  John asked, raising his eyebrows at Parish.

“I’m on my way to the station with your dinner,” Stiles said.  “Gia made this incredible lasagna that ticks all the boxes on your doctor approved menu and I brought you a service.”

“Have you been at Justin’s since yesterday?”  John asked.

“Yeah, you said it was okay since you had such a crazy shift,” Stiles said.  “Justin said it was safer if we weren’t alone.  Hey, I threw Boyd across the room today.”

“Really?”  John said, “Good job.”

“Hey, Justin told me about the robberies,” Stiles said, “and the video.  How he found out, I don’t know, but he said he’d send a lawyer who could help.”

“Okay,” John said slowly.

“Seriously, all I have to do is tell the truth and Mister Clark will handle the rest.”  Stiles said, “Trust me, and trust Justin.  Now, I’m here and coming in.  Make sure you get this lasagna, because it’s the best thing you’ll ever taste.”

“I will,” John replied.  “I’ll see you soon.”  He hung up and stood up, “Stiles is about to walk in the front door with my dinner.”

“Huh,” Parrish said, “we should have asked you that two hours ago.”

John grinned, “Maybe, but I can’t guaranteed it would have worked.  Let’s go.”

“Hey,” Parrish said as he stepped back, “I am sorry about this.”

“I understand,” John said, “Stiles does too.”  He followed Parrish out to the front desk where Stiles was chatting with the new receptionist, Katy.

“I just need to get this to my dad,” Stiles said with a charming grin, “it’s his dinner.”

“Hey Stiles,” John said.

“Dad,” Stiles said, he tapped the plastic container on the counter, “dinner, and it’s still warm.”

“Thanks son,” John said.  He nodded to Parrish.

“Stiles,” Parrish said.

“Oh,” Stiles said, “this is the part where you handcuff me, right?  Because I’ve got a lawyer on the way.”

“No,” Parrish said, “right now, we’re just looking to ask you some questions.”

Stiles shrugged, “All right, but we’ll have to wait.  I’m expecting a lawyer.”

“Right,” Parrish said, “if you’ll come with me.”

They headed into the squad room, and John noticed McCall watching from the back of the room, “So, if I have to wait, do I get bathroom privileges?”  Stiles asked.  “I mean, I don’t know how fast my lawyer’s going to get here.”

McCall scoffed, and John clenched a fist because he could practically hear the man’s comment to the deputy beside him.  It would figure that McCall would connect with the one deputy John always wanted to fire.  He figured that every department had that one cop who was an asshole and assumed that everyone was guilty.

“That’s one.”

John jumped and spun, “What?”  He said.

Two men stood in the door to the room.  The first was a serious, dark haired man in a suit and carrying a briefcase, beside him was a taller but younger man with red hair and freckles dressed in jeans and a yellow t-shirt.

“Hi,” the dark haired man said, “Porter Clark.  Justin asked me to represent Stiles.”

“Of course,” John offered his hand, “I’m Stiles’s father, John Stilinski.  I’m also the local sheriff.”

“Please to meet you,” Porter said.  “Is Stiles here?”

“Deputy Parrish just escorted him back to the interrogation rooms,” John said.  He turned, “Rick, would you show Mister Clark back.”

“Certainly,” Rick Nash said as he stood up.

“Sheriff,” the red haired man said, “My name is Chip Thorn.  While Porter is speaking with Stiles, I need to have a word with you.”

“Stay out of trouble, Charlie,” Porter said as he followed Rick into the back.

“I make no promises,” Chip said with a bright grin.

“Who are you exactly?”  McCall asked as he picked his way through the desks.

“I’m sorry,” Chip said, “I’ve got two small children at home.  I must have missed your name.”

“Agent McCall, FBI,” McCall said, flashing his badge.

Chip grinned, “Agent Chip Thorne.”  He held up a heavily customized cell phone, “Lightspeed.”

“Is that supposed to be your badge?”  McCall scoffed.  “Besides, convenience store robberies are a little outside your jurisdiction, aren’t they?”

“Oh, two, and three,” Chip said cheerfully as he slid the phone in his pocket.  “Actually it depends on the people involved in the crime.”

“Stiles Stilinski is a sixteen year old nobody with an addiction to-“

John started to stand, ready to defend his son.

There was a crack, a rush of air, and a flash of yellow-green light.

“Oops.”  Chip said,

John blinked his eyes and stared at the small tree that now stood where McCall had been.  “What the hell?”  He asked.

Chip rubbed the back of his neck, “Uh, sorry.  I’m not exactly in control of that little instinct yet.”

“Instinct,” John began.

“Yeah, hey, I’m Chip Thorn, and I’m the Yellow Mystic Ranger,” Chip said.  “It’s okay, he’s fine.  We just make sure to water him and he’ll be back to his normal self in a day or two.”  He frowned, “I mean, last time it was twenty-four hours, but I had a different perspective on the problem.”

“He?  Problem?”  John said.

“Sorry,” Chip grinned at him, “That’s the ficus, or Joshua Fig, formally known as Agent McCall.  I kind of turned him into a tree.”

John stared at him for a few moments before deciding that all he could really do was roll with it.  That reminded him of a few weeks back when Justin had first mentioned the Nogitsune’s actions causing effects for Stiles. 

_The younger man stared into his eyes for a long moment as they shook hands after the meeting.  “You’re a good man, John.  Most people can’t handle this kind of thing.  These days, most of us end up with a morpher and a giant robot.  Just remember to go with whatever’s happening in the moment, and freak out later.  I recommend whiskey for your freak outs, it’ll actually help.”_

Men turning, or be turned into, a fig tree was something you just had to go with it.

“Besides, everything I’ve heard about McCall, and I’ve read _all_ of Justin’s reports, says that the man’s a bully.  I don’t like bully.”  Chip said.

John blinked, “So, you’re just a kid from Brooklyn?”

Chip laughed, “I wish.  No, I’m a pediatric oncology nurse with two kids, the world’s most patient partners, and I used to fight monsters in spandex.”  He glanced at the small tree, “Like I said, he’ll be fine.  If he doesn’t turn back in a couple of days, I know that Xander can undo it.  Plants and such are _his_ specialty.

“All right,” John said, “so why are you here, besides turning disliked FBI Agents into ficus?”

Chip shook his head but crossed his arms, “Six weeks ago, the Mystic Rangers responded to a disturbance in the Magical Realm linked to a sorcerer and his collection of magical artifacts.  One of the artifacts was a soul trap that contained a chaos spirit, one that used possession and mimicry to cause chaos.  The spirit was released from the trap and appears to have latched onto your son.”

“A chaos spirit,” John said flatly.

“Yes,” Chip replied, “Seeing as I’ve had experience with soul traps and spiritual entities, and I’m the one who could travel here on a moment’s notice, I was chosen to come here.  I can help evaluate the situation, collect the evidence that will argue your son’s case, and even help return the spirit to its soul trap.”

“Really Charles?”

Porter Clark was back and eyeing the ficus unamusedly.

Chip flushed and relaxed his stance, “In my defense, he’s a bully and I don’t like bullies.”  He waved his arms, “Besides, if that’s the attitude in the reports, I agree.  He was unprofessional if not downright rude and I can honestly believe that he broke into a home without a warrant based on the graffiti in an abandoned hospital.  He’ll be fine; he turns people into trees all the time.”

Porter sighed and rubbed his forehead for a moment, “I need a word with the Sheriff and Mister Stilinski has a few questions for you, Charlie.”

“On it,” Chip said and headed back to join Stiles.

“If we may speak in private, Sheriff,” Porter said.

“My office is over here,” John replied with a gesture.

When they were settled with the door closed, Porter sighed, “I apologize for Charlie.  He’s a good man, and a better Ranger, but he can be trying.”

“You just spoke to my son,” John said, “I’m not afraid of an unusual personality, Mister Clark.”

“You may call me Porter, Sheriff,” Porter said.  “We’ll be working on this case together for some time.”

“Do you actually have a plan?”  John asked.

“Yes,” Porter said.  “The story Chip provided your deputies will hold up in the official reports.  There was a chaos spirit released from the Magic Realm and such.  We simply replaced the actual victim with Stiles.  We’ll need to take this to court to prove that everything is above board here.  While Stiles was not formally arrested today, he’s still a person of interest.  The public eye will judge what happens to Stiles so it’s important to be as transparent as we possibly can be.  First, we’ll need to track Stiles so that when the spirit arrives again, we’ll be able to provide proof of where Stiles is at that time.  Of course, if the local agent and his people catch and contain the spirit, we’ll not go to trial at all.  That’s really our best case scenario.”

John considered the stern if impassioned man.  “What are the risks?”

“Mostly that we’d have to take the case to Eltare,” Porter said after a long moment.  “If that happens, Stiles will have to speak his peace to the Tribunal, and that means the full story behind what’s been happening here.  They’ll understand that we’re phrasing things to protect Earthians as long as Stiles speaks the truth before the Tribunal.  The only other risks would be associated with containing the spirit, which I will not participate in.  It distresses my dry cleaner when I bring in clothes with blood stains.”

John wasn’t sure if we would call Porter’s smile honest, if it were even sane.

Stilinski nodded, then tilted his head towards the door, “I don’t suppose we can do anything about Agent Ficus?”

“That’s Agent McCall?”  Porter said, “I’d suspected, but even knowing…” he frowned a moment.  “Last I was informed, we were waiting to hear back from the FBI about the other complaints Justin has made about the man.  It’s possible that him becoming a ficus will be the start of the disciplinary actions; otherwise, they might consider him punished enough.  He has done some poorly thought out things, to be quite honest.”

Someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” John called.

Chip stuck his head in the door, “I’ve tagged Stiles, Sheriff, Porter.  Unless you have any more questions, I’m ready to go.”

“Sheriff?”  Porter said.

“I’m sure I have a dozen questions, but I can’t think of anything,” John admitted after a moment.

“Here,” Porter said, “my card.  You can email me later.”

“Right,” Chip said, holding out a similar, small card.  “I’m always up to chat.  The babies are always crying.”

John took the cards, “Thank you for your help.”

“Not a problem,” Porter said.

“The world needs more decent men like you Sheriff.  You’re worth a dozen Rangers in your field.”  Chip said firmly.

“Thank you,” John said, stunned as the two men left the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: All right, so this chapter references my short story "Why Chip Thorne Does Not Work At St. Jude".


	12. Battle Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And after a two month hiatus, I'm back to Trouble! I'm intending to have this finished by the end of a month.

“All right,” Scott said as they entered Justin’s apartment.  “The Nogitsune has shown a tendency to go after different locations.  We may think we know where he is, but we can’t guarantee it.”

“What are you thinking?”  Justin asked as he pulled up a holographic map of the city.

“It’s like that game, _go;_ we have strongholds that the Nogitsune can attack.”  Scott said, he tapped the map, turning each location red as he mentioned it.  “Our homes, the animal clinic, the sheriff’s department, the hospital, and the school.”

“He can’t get in my home,” Justin said, “I’ve got some of the best protection friendships and money can buy.”  He typed on his keyboard and his building turned green.

“What about the others,” Troy asked.

“Well, the hospital and such are public buildings,” Justin said, “whatever we may do for the homes, we can’t do for them.”

“Deaton’s got protections,” Scott said.

“With no guarantee that they’ll be enough,” Justin replied.

“Well, Gia offered to do some protections,” Troy offered.  “She says it’s better on a place where people aren’t going in and out.”

“That and everyone’s going to be at work,” Derek said.

They looked at each other.  “So Gia protects our homes,” Scott said, “then what?”

“Other than buildings, the target will be people,” Justin said, “although they’re most likely to end up in these places.  I’m okay with dumping free tech in some of these places, but the people, I can’t load them with tech, and it doesn’t work that way.”

Derek looked at him sharply, but Justin just shook his head slightly.

“What?”  Scott asked looking between them.

“Nothing,” Justin said.

“No,” Derek said, he turned to Scott, “Justin knows how to protect people.”

“No I don’t,” Justin said.

“What?”  Scott said.

“Justin,” Derek said.

“You don’t want me to do this Derek,” Justin said quietly.  “That’s not the kind of security work _I_ am trained for.”

“Can someone back up and explain please?”  Troy asked.

Justin sighed, “Part of being a Warden is to protect the Alpha,” he said.  “I’m not the person you want doing that.”

“Why not?  You’re good,” Scott said.

“Because Laura’s dead,” Justin shouted.  “She’s dead, and I failed her because I wasn’t there.  You didn’t trust me either Derek.”

“What?”  Derek asked.

“You called me Warden, but did you _ever_ listen to me?  Did you _ever_ ask my advice for anything but training the Betas?  Fuck, you didn’t even ask me for that, I made you let me train them.”  Justin said.  He looked at Scott, “I’ll give tech for protection, but you don’t want me to protect people.  It’s clearly not one of my skills.”

Scott watched Justin turn away and he glanced at Derek, who looked stunned and upset.  When Derek looked at him, he flinched.  “Justin,” Scott said, “come here.”

Justin turned around, startled.

“Where were you when Laura died?”

“I...”  Justin looked from Derek to Scott, “I was in Japan.”

“No,” Scott said, “don’t lie.  _Where were you?”_

Justin’s shoulders bowed, “I was on the planet Javor.”

“Why?”  Scott asked.

“My brother Zhane, the Silver Astro Ranger?  He asked me to come.  He wanted me warned about trouble coming.  Ranger teams- Ranger teams are disappearing, both active and retired, and nobody really knows why.  Ever since that disaster with the Samurai, the Astros have been hesitant about talking to the Earthian Rangers.  I mean, they’ve never been on good terms, but it’s gotten worse.  I’m the only one who’s been on talking terms with an Astro consistently for years.”  Justin replied.

“How important was this meeting?”  Scott asked carefully.

“Very,” Justin said.  “There are planets that have more Rangers, or even more powerful ones, but Earth?  Earth’s classified as a three right now as far as tech and civilization goes.  That’s out of seven ratings, with one being cavemen.  We’re the lowest classified planet to have as many Rangers and Ranger teams as we do.  If someone were collecting Rangers, Earth is a prime target and we needed to be warned.  I’m the only one they could contact, I mean, even Ro- I mean, Blue Zeo isn’t on good terms with the Astros right now, and he’s usually the most neutral guy around.”

“Did you have any inkling of trouble before you left?”  Scott asked, “Any warnings or messages?”

Justin shook his head, “No, there wasn’t anything.  Laura wasn’t supposed to go to Beacon Hills for another month when Zhane asked me to come.  It’s- it’s why I even went.  She wasn’t supposed to _leave._ ”

Scott moved before he’s realized his intent, catching Justin deliberately around the back of his neck, pulling him close.  “Beta,” he said around a mouth of fangs, “I cannot absolve you of your guilt.  You would not accept it from me.  Instead, I will only say this; _you have not failed me._   You have knowledge and wisdom that I _need_ today.”  He released Justin and shifted back, “Now, the field is yours to command.  Tell us what to do.”

Justin whimpered softly for a moment, then he rubbed his hand over his face and stared at the map.  “Okay,” he said, “okay.  Troy, will your people accept being split up?”

“They will,” Troy said, “whatever you need.”

Justin nodded, “I want Gia and Boyd at the hospital to sit on Maya and Melissa.  Gia’s got her cover established, and Boyd is incredibly good at being unremarkable.  If the Nogitsune sends trouble there, they can help.  Next, put Noah and Wren with Deaton.  Wren’s a CPA, she can be helping Deaton go over his books, and Deaton has a history of employing teenagers.  Emma and Mik go to the station.  Tell Emma to take her camera, she’s doing a series on the department for a photography class, and Mik is a legal aid for Porter on Stiles’s case.  Finally, put Isaac on Argent.  Argent’s out, I know, but until he leaves town he’s a target because Alison killed an Oni.  Isaac’s already over there, but we’ll keep him on Argent for now.  They can work on how Alison did it together.  Tyler and Petra will bring the cubs here.  My place is the Den, it’s the best guarded.  Tyler’s good with a pump action shot gun and better with the cubs, and Petra’s trained to protect the Den.  Give me Derek, the twins, and Troy to run a distraction while you take Kira, Lydia, and Stiles.  We’ll set the battleground at the high school, with it being Friday, nobody’s going to actually be there until Monday.”

“How do we get him there?”  Scott asked.

Justin turned to Derek, who nodded slightly, “The school’s grounds belong to my family; we leased them to the school in the late fifties for a high school with a caveat.  We had a vault on the land and we forced them to agree to leave it undisturbed.  It is filled with valuables and powerful artifacts.”

“Derek and I can have a few unwise conversations tonight and tomorrow,” Justin said, “put out that we’ve got something that will pull down the Nogitsune in the vault.  He won’t be able to resist it.  He’ll go there to claim it, and we’ll go there ostensibly to recover the artifact.  Deaton said we could contain the spirit in that box of Derek’s, so when we’re sure he’s there, we’ll trap him.”

“What am I doing?”  Scott asked.

“Protecting Stiles,” Justin said.  “The Nogitsune is weakened because his body isn’t whole.  He split with Stiles to have his own physical form, but so long as both of them exist, they’ll drain each other.  Stiles shows it more because he doesn’t have the external power that the Nogitsune has.  The Nogitsune will be drawn to Stiles, and driven to destroy him.  Stiles will draw the Nogitsune’s attention as much as any weapon will, and when we have the Nogitsune, you, and the box in one place, we can finish him.”

“Why me?”  Scott asked.

“It’s the scroll,” Derek said, “You change the body.”

“Exactly,” Justin said.  He reached over to carefully rest his hand on Scott’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, but I think your first Beta’s going to end up with a nasty case of rejection.”

“I’ll survive,” Scott said with a swallow.  He nodded, “But this is a good plan.  Unless either of you have an objection, this is the plan we’re going to use.”

Derek shook his head and crossed his arms, “I have no problem with this.  It’s a solid plan.”

“Me either,” Troy said, “although are you sure you want me with you guys?  I’m not a werewolf.”

“Yes,” Justin said, “I want you right next to me.”

Scott ran his hands through his hair and nodded, “Make the call Warden.  Get everyone in place.  We attack on your command.”

“Yes Captain,” Justin said, reaching for his phone.


	13. Devine Move

Aidain followed his team into the school’s side entrance.  Derek and Justin led with Troy on their heels.  Ethan’s hand brushed his and Aidain smiled as he caught his brother’s eye.  There was a sudden scuffling noise and Aidain roared as pain blossomed in his shoulder.

“Seriously,” Troy said as he spun around, “you’re picking now?”

“They must die.”

It was the Alphas bastards, because of course they would pick tonight. 

“Hold on,” Ethan said as he gripped his shoulder.  Aidain nodded slightly as he felt Ethan pull something out of his shoulder.  Then he threw a knife back at the Alphas.

“Look,” Troy was saying as he stepped past the twins.  “I’ll admit it; I don’t especially like the twins.  We have some personal history going on there, but killing them is not the answer.  Besides, you have picked like the worst moment in the world to try to take them out.”

“Give them to us, and we’ll leave.  We have no quarrel with the rest of you,” the foremost Alpha in the group said.

“Sorry,” Justin said as he also stood in front of the twins.  “We can’t help you.  Amazingly enough, you aren’t the biggest threat in Beacon Hills and we really need the firepower to protect civilians.  You’re soldiers; you should understand that we’re not giving up our big guns two minutes before the fight begins.”

“What do you know about being a soldier?”  The Alpha said.

Justin laughed, “Not a damn thing.  I specialize in Power Ranger style tactics.  You’re like Rita and Zed in the Winnebago and we’re the Zeo Rangers.  Sorry, the Machine Empire is far more important.”

“Am I the Machine Empire in your metaphor?”

Aidain growled as he and Ethan shifted to keep the Nogitsune in their line of sight as well as the Alphas.

Justin threw his hands up as he turned to the Nogitsune, “Actually, I was thinking of ficus.  But if you want to pretend I was thinking of you, feel free.”

The Nogitsune growled in frustration and the Oni appeared around them.

“Excellent,” Troy said, “a challenge.”

Justin chuckled as he popped his knuckles, “Let’s do this.”  He lunged for the nearest Oni with a roar, twisting around the sword and punching the Oni in the chest.  Derek went for a second Oni with a snarl.  Aidain and Ethan glanced at each other and dove for one of the others.

As Aidain dodged a sword stab, he thought that there was something clean about this fight, something so different for Deucalion’s fights.  As he tried to claw the Oni’s mask off, he thought that Justin might call it the reason they were fighting.

Someone landed on Aidain’s back.  Aidain threw himself sideways, trying to turn and fight back at the new attacker.

“Aidain!”  Ethan shouted.

“Mostly okay,” Aidain said as he finally got a grip on the Alpha’s arm.  He heaved liked Justin had showed him and flipped the Alpha into the Oni, turning towards Ethan as the Oni took the Alpha’s head.  “Just a little annoyed.”

“Right,” Ethan said.

Suddenly, Troy was darting between the two of them and Aidain ducked to avoid the renewed attentions of the Oni.

“You assholes,” Troy was shouting, “They’re already fighting for their lives!  Don’t you think that you could at least give them the courtesy to see if they’ll survive?  Hey, no biting!”

Aidain backed up and glanced over at Troy, who was kicking one of the Alphas in the back.

“My God, what is it about killing to become an Alpha that makes you an asshole?”  Troy demanded.  “Scott’s the only decent Alpha I’ve ever met.”

“Oi!”  Justin called.

“Laura didn’t kill anybody,” Troy replied as he dodged around another Alpha.

Aidain frowned and dodged back as the Oni advanced.

“Enough,” Troy said.  Something in his voice actually made Aidain and the Oni pause.  Aidain glanced over at Troy, who was holding up a gaudy gold device.  “It’s Morphin Time!  Go, go Megaforce!”

There was a small explosion, and Troy was suddenly clad in a Ranger uniform.  “Megaforce Red,” he announced.  Then he spin kicked one of the stunned Alphas.  “Honestly, people are such humanists, like we couldn’t possibly be superheroes or something.”

Aidain hissed as the Oni suddenly slashed his arm and he turned back to the fight.  On the one hand, Justin’s acceptance of Troy in their group suddenly made sense if Justin had been aware of Troy’s status earlier.  On the other, worrying about everyone else was only going to get him killed.

Between the claw marks from the Alpha, and the slowly growing number of sword cuts, Aidain could only hope that someone would show up and break this fight.  He wasn’t sure he could take many more hits.  The Alpha had promised he’d come, and Aidain knew the lore, True Alphas didn’t become what they were if they were the type who broke promises.

Then the Oni got in a solid hit on his leg and Aidain went down, trying to scramble away before the Oni could take advantage.

There was a snick and a whistle and Aidain stared, gasping, as the Oni began to emit a hellish yellow light before it exploded into dust.

“What the hell?”  He gasped as he scrambled backwards.

“What was that?”  Derek said.

“Silver.”

Aidain stared as Chris Argent, flanked by Isaac, appeared.

“Isaac,” Derek said.  “Get this to Scott,” he tossed the triskele box to Isaac, who snatched it and ran into the school.

Argent swung his crossbow to his shoulder and fired on another Oni.  Ethan backed up to kneel beside Aidain as the Oni exploded.  “Damn,” he said.

“People don’t get those reputations if they don’t deserve them,” Justin said.  “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Aidain said, “I’m healing.”  He winced as one of the remaining Oni threw Derek and he shoved himself forward to try to hold it so Argent could make the shot.

“Down,” Argent called.  Aidain ducked and the bolt soared over his head.  There was a clattering sound and Aidain stared at the broken arrow.  He started to lunge for it, but the Oni rammed it’s sword into his calf and he screamed.

“Aidain!”  Ethan shouted.

“Hold on,” Troy shouted.

Aidain saw an Alpha grab the arrowhead by the broken shaft and jammed it into the Oni.  As he fell, headless to the ground, Troy kicked the arrow shaft further into the Oni’s chest.  The demon and its sword vanished.

Ethan crashed into Aidain before he could fully process that the sword was gone.  “Aidain,” Ethan said.

Aidain pulled Ethan down into his chest, “I’m okay,” he whispered, hugging his brother.  “I’m okay.”

“Now it’s our turn,” one of the Alphas declared.

Troy ripped his helmet off, “I have had enough of this bullshit.”

With Justin following him, Troy strode over to the Alphas, looking at each of them long enough for each of them to realize and recognize that he saw them.

“I am Troy Burrows, Red Megaforce Ranger,” Troy said firmly.  “I am also a human member of the McCall Pack.  What right do you have to claim another’s life forfeit?  Last I checked, this is still the United States of America and vigilantism is still illegal.  As far as I know, none of you are legally permitted to be judge, jury, and executioner.  You murdered Peter Hale.  I have been asked to let that go, but I will say this, if any of my packmates are ever harmed by any of you, I will drag you before the law and demand justice, not from the American courts, not from the Earthian international courts, but from the courts of Eltare.  I include Aidan and Ethan in that statement.  Personal feelings aside, my Alpha says they are pack.”  Troy crossed his arms, “I suggest you don’t tempt me.”

“You defend them?”  One of the Alphas asked.

“Aidan and Ethan will have their day in court,” Justin said quietly.  “They will face justice for their part in events in Beacon Hills, the same as we all will.  Justice in all of its forms will come.”

“And who are you?”  The Alpha asked.

“Justin Anthony Stewart of Earth, Blue Turbo Ranger, Warden of the McCall Pack.  The Hale Hound.  Brother of Zhane of KO-35, Silver Astro Ranger.”  Justin stepped up, shoulder to shoulder with Troy.  “Rest assured when I say that Justice is coming to Beacon Hills, and we will all face her wrath.”

“Two of your people died today,” Troy said, “One while trying to kill Aidan and the other helped us kill the last Oni.  One was a problem, the other a solution.  Maybe you should figure out what side you’re on.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, I do have a checklist of events that I want to fix. Meet item number one. Comments, positive suggestions and questions, and such are welcome. Pls to remember, I have no beta to check things.


	14. New Trouble

“All right,” Justin said as he took boosted himself on to Derek’s table, “I’ve been working on a project and now that the Nogitsune is dealt with, I hope you can help me.  It’s related to Jake.”  He smiled when Troy and his team straightened in their seats.

“How can we help?”  Scott asked.

“It’s like this,” Justin said, kicking off his shoes and crossing his legs, “There have been a number of Ranger kids abducted in the past few years both on Earth and off.  We’ve been getting more and more creative about protecting them, even hiding them on sanctuary planets.  A few years ago, some Rangers were accidentally sent to the future, a post-apocalyptic future where most of humanity is hiding behind walls and shields.  They were given information on how to prevent the apocalypse, including rescuing the child who would eventually create the cause of the apocalypse.  The information we got isn’t entirely accurate, mainly the location of the child hasn’t been completely built yet.  However, using that information led to Beacon Hills.  According to what we’ve found, and Malia’s help, there’s a facility in the preserve that shouldn’t be there.  It’s related to Jake in that this is the direction Maya was scrying in when she was injured.”

“That place is evil,” Malia said, “they kill creatures that get too close, including coyotes.”

“What I need from all of you is help in scouting out the area.  The Rangers can’t get near it, we set off their alarms.”  Justin said.

“How do you know that?”  Scott asked.

“I went fishing,” Justin said, “and I mean that in the literal sense.  I went up there with my fishing gear and wanted to drop a line at a lake.  I spent the better part of the morning under observation by men from the facility.  When the truck wouldn’t start, I called Derek to give me a lift.  He came up the same road, and there was no response from the facility.  Nobody showed up while we were jumping the truck, or when we brought my gear down, and I was observed within five minutes of my arrival.”  He glanced at them, “I did a few other tests, and they’re definitely looking at Rangers.”

“We need a plan,” Scott said, “and we need excuses up there.  It wouldn’t do for us to get caught.”

“Or maybe,” Stiles said, “That’s exactly what we need.”

“What?”  Scott said.

“What if we got caught, not all of us, not the Rangers, but me and, say, Lydia.  We could claim we’re doing a project for school in the woods and we got lost.”

“Not Lydia,” Justin said sharply.

“Why not?”  Lydia demanded.

“Because we don’t want to just give over a rare person such as you,” Justin said.  “They’ve taken Rangers, but if these people work for who I suspected they work for, I’d prefer it if we kept the number of supernatural beings on their radar to a minimum.”

“Who are they?”  Scott asked.

Justin looked down for a moment, “I can’t say, Alpha.  I have no proof of the connection, and I am bound to silence.  If such a connection were found, even in the most circumstantial of manners, I would give over the information in a heartbeat, regardless of what others might say.”

Scott stared at him for a moment, and then nodded reluctantly.

“This facility,” Petra said, “how did you find it?”

“I was asked for help,” Justin said, “so I went fishing.  While scanning things, I found this.”  He tapped at a keyboard and a 3D, overhead view of a familiar figure appeared.

“Jake,” Troy said.

“Yup,” Justin said.

“You aren’t expecting us to handle this?”  Mik said after a moment.

“There are people who can help,” Justin said, “as soon as I find that proof.”

“What kind of people?”  Troy asked.

Justin leaned back and smirked as he looked around, “Well, there’s Lightspeed and Overdrive, obviously, and the time travelers I mentioned, since it was their hunt that brought the facility to our attention.  Maybe others, but honestly, I’d like to keep things limited a bit.”

“Those are Power Rangers,” Aidain said.

Justin nodded, “He’s not the only one.  Specifically, I want Carter Grayson from Lightspeed when this goes down.”

“Why?”  Scott asked.

“Because he’s the best strategist and tactician I know,” Justin replied.  “He’s trained for it by Lightspeed.  First Red might be the Ranger’s General, and he’s good with that, but Carter was trained for alliances and military ops, which is more what we need here.”  He glanced at Scott, “Not that you aren’t good, but he’s got training and experience.”

“I understand,” Scott said.

“We’ll have to explain about werewolves though,” Justin said, “but we can trust them not to squeal.  They’re used to keeping secrets, and they’ve kept mine.  Not to mention there will be NDAs associated with this anyways.”

“NDA?”  Malia asked.

“Non-disclosure agreement,” Justin said, “basically if someone signs the agreement and then talks about it, they get fines and jail time.”  He glanced at the pack, “So, will you help me with this?  Not just to take Jake down, but if they are who I think they are?”

The affirmatives were unanimous and made Justin smile.  He loved his pack, as weird and oddly shaped as they might be.

///…\\\\\///…\\\\\///…\\\\\

Stiles watched Malia pace around his bedroom, growling at a photo of the facility every time she passed his desk.

“You must really hate that place,” Stiles said carefully.

“I really do,” Malia growled, “they killed my family.”

“Your what?”  Stiles asked.

“My family,” Malia replied, pointedly turning her back to the photo.  “I had a mate, and pups.  The people there killed them for no reason, for _fun._ ”

Stiles tried to find words for her, but instead he blurted out, “You have kids?”

“Had,” Malia snapped.

“Right, sorry,” Stiles said, sitting down.

“Deaton said that I spent so much time shifted that I was aging faster than a human normally would.  The aging will slow down, the longer I stay mostly human.”  Malia said, “As a coyote, I was already getting old though.  We live ten to fourteen years naturally.”

Stiles bit his tongue to keep from correcting her.

Malia bit her nail, “It was seasons ago, but…”

Stiles leaped to his feet and carefully hugged her, “It’s okay,” he said.  “Losing family like that, it hurts.  Some days it hurts less.”  He felt her rest her forehead on his neck.  “My aunt told me once that there’s no set schedule for grief.  No one can tell you when to stop grieving for your lost ones, or how to grieve.  You feel what you feel, and you do what you have to.”

Malia sniffed a little and stepped back.  “I’m sorry, it’s just that there’s so much to adjust to.”

Stiles bit his lip, then gave her a hesitant smile, “Well, just think on this.  Justin said that whatever they’re up to, it’s bad.  We’re going to shut them down and send them all to jail.  And Justin and Troy like you a lot.  If they knew about your family, they’ll do even more than just send them to jail.”

Malia shook her head, “I don’t want to tell them.  I didn’t plan to tell anyone.”

“I won’t tell,” Stiles said.  “I promise.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, before all of you decide to come down on me for Malia, I invite you to consider something. Malia spent HOW LONG as a coyote? Even if she had a slow maturity, she still grew up. She didn't have human instincts, she had coyote instincts. Coyotes don't have age of consent laws. You have a heat, you find a mate. Why wouldn't Malia have a similar instance? What if she did? Malia's as much a coyote as she is a human, she's just trying to be more human because of the people around her. (For the record, I also believe that the Stiles/Malia scene at Aiken House was a shared hallucination. Horrible and agency robbing, but a hallucination.)


	15. Smoking Gun

Justin growled at the lines of code, “Why won’t you work?”  He demanded, running his hands through his hair.  He paused and felt his hair again, “I need a haircut.”

His computer dinged, “Would you like me to make an appointment?”

Justin raised his eyebrows, the intuitive vocal response on his calendar was buggier than a hospital in flu season and he wasn’t ready to strip down and fix it.  Besides, it had been develop by R&D without him and he wanted to encourage his people to earn the money to pay off their overpriced educations.  “End vocal intuition.”

“Affirmative.”

Besides, Justin liked the way it sounded like K-9, it made him smile every time he heard it.  His screen flashed and he glared at the lines of code that defied him.  He reached over to send the curser back to the top of the page to start again.

There was a knock on the door, and then Alec Hardison leaned into the room with a grin, “Hey Justin.”

Justin smiled back, “Hi Alec.  Glad you could make it down?”

“Well, Parker wanted some down time,” Alec said, “and being here’s about as down as she can get without climbing the Burj Khalifa or something.”

Justin laughed and shook his head, “She’s doing me a favor you know.  If I can stump Parker then I know I’ve got something.  What about Spencer?”

“He had one of those phone calls,” Alec said, looking worried, “the kind he asked me not to hack.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Justin said, “He knows if he gets in trouble he’s got a whole list of people who will help him out.”

“Yeah,” Alec said.  “So why did you call me?”

Justin sighed and closed down his code.  “Remember that facility we found?”

“Yeah?”  Alec said.

“I need a smoking gun,” Justin said, standing up.  “I need proof that I can take to Lightspeed and Overdrive and I can’t get past the firewalls on my own.  You know what that place is, and you’re the only hacker I know who can think flexibly enough to get in that doesn’t also work for the government and I trust.”

“But,” Alec said, “Surely there’s someone.”

“No,” Justin shook his head.  “I’m not as… trusted as some of the other Rangers.  I’ve got questionable loyalties.”

“What does that mean?  You’re…”  Alec flailed for a moment.

“I have ties to a Ranger team most of the others don’t approve of,” Justin said, turning to stare out at the forest.  “They feel that my refusal to pick a side makes me less loyal, but none of them seem to see why I can’t.”

“Why?”  Alec asked.

“My brother is on that team,” Justin said, turning.  “But that’s neither here nor there.  Will you help me find my smoking gun?”

“Of course, glad to help.”  Alec replied.

///…\\\\\///…\\\\\///…\\\\\

For the first time in seven years, Justin wished he had his old sense of smell back.  Nine hours of programming with Alec “I bleed orange soda” Hardison was a lifetime he was never going to get back.

It was worth it thought, because they had gotten in and gotten the smoking gun.  Not just a memo or a logo, but video orders from a known SPD officer, instructing them to continue their experiments into humans and genetic manipulation.  It was exactly what Justin needed to bring them down.

“You know they might detect this,” Alec said when they shut things down.

Justin smiled at him, “Then it’s a good thing I’m on my way to get back up right now, isn’t it.”

“What about me?”  Alec said, “Will they…?”

“Alec, this is my op and I couldn’t have done it without you.  If you want to hole up until this is over, I’ll set you up anywhere you want.  Fuck, I’ll get clearance and send you off planet if that is what you want.  Or…”  Justin hesitated.

“Or what?”  Alec asked.

“Or you stay, and you keep helping.  The security there is strongly tech based.  Even if I get a couple of Ranger Techs or Blues to help, you and I know that code better than anyone.  Spencer and Parker are damn good infiltrators, and they could teach us a thing or two about subtle.  Let me put them on teams, to lead teams during our assault, with you to back them up.  I’m not saying just them, but a couple of Rangers and a couple of my guys, and that’s the best kind of protection that exists.”

“I’ll have to talk this over with them,” Alec said.

“And if you help us, with this,” Justin held up the thumb drive with the video, “you’ve already gotten a get out of jail free card, now you’ll get more.  Funding, back up, probably more than you could dream of.  Hell, next time you go up against a Blue Mountain system, just call me and I’ll _shut the damn thing off._ That’s the kind of work you’ve done, are doing, and could do; just to clarify.  If I have to go to fucking Eltare and get them involved, I’ll do it.”

“Why?”  Alec asked.

Justin pulled up the shot of Jake.  “This is Jake, he’s a Ranger and he’s being held in that facility.  Because I wouldn’t give up Megaforce, they wouldn’t help when I asked.  _My word_ wasn’t enough.  I had to make personal appeals to get what help I’ve gotten around here.  You, you came here, you helped, just because I asked.  Maybe part of that’s my fault, maybe I chose my people over the Rangers six years ago, and I won’t turn on Zhane, but you know what?  They abandoned me first and they never, ever, told me that they were wrong to do it.”

“Let me talk to Parker and Elliot,” Alec said, “but I’m in.”

“Thanks,” Justin said.  “I’ll be back in a few days.  Feel free to hack or whatever, I owe you.”

“I’ll see you soon.”  Alec said.

Justin let the door close before he made his first call, to his pilot.

“Tom McGuiness.”

“McGuiness, this is Justin Stewart.  I need to be in the air ASAP,” Justin said.  “My first stop is Mariner Bay, and I’ll need a car and four hours.  Then I’m going to Blue Bay Harbor, with another four hours to stop, but it may be longer.  Finally, I’m going to San Angeles, and I need the full VIP treatment there.”

“I’ll get things started,” McGuiness said, “give me two hours.”

“Great,” Justin said.  He hung up and dialed Scott.

“Hello?”  Scott said.

“Scott, it’s Justin.  I’ve got one hell of a smoking gun and I’m going for back up.”  Justin said as he entered the stairwell.  “I’m thinking next weekend we’ll move.”

“Wait, the facility?”  Scott said after a moment.

“Yeah,” Justin said.  “I got some help getting in the firewalls, and when I say we got a smoking gun, I mean we got the gun, the security footage with the killer’s face, _and_ an eyewitness.  This is going to be earth shaking.”

“I’ll get our people together and prepped,” Scott said.

“Great, thanks,” Justin said.  “My assistant in this matter, Alec Hardison, is still at the office.  I think if you’ll ask, he’ll give you the full rundown on what we found.  I need to pack up and get to the airport.”

“What about Isaac and the twins?”  Scott asked after a long moment.

Justin stopped, swaying on the step, thinking.  “Petra’s still at my place, she can stand in for me if something comes up.  I’m going to be gone a couple of days, given the people I’m going to be meeting with.”

“All right,” Scott said.  “We’ll hold things here.  Be safe.”

“Only every day,” Justin said and hung up.  He glanced up and smiled, “Lady Parker, how’s it hanging?”

Parker, hanging from a harness and rope, smiled at him.

“Alec’s upstairs,” Justin said, “his help was invaluable.  I’ll be back in a few days, whatever you guys decide.”

Parker nodded and started pulling herself back up.

Justin jumped the stairs to the next landing and began to dial another number.  This time, it took forever for anyone to pick up.  “Astro Megaship.”

“Ashley, it’s Justin, is Zhane available?”  Justin asked as he burst out into the building’s lobby.

“Hey Justin, just a moment,” Ashley said, “How are you?”

Justin grinned, “Amazing.  Exhausted.  Stunned.  I haven’t slept in days.”

“Is that good?”  Ashley asked carefully.

“Good is as good does,” Justin said as he slid into his truck.

“Well, here’s Zhane,” Ashley said.

“Zhane, my brother,” Justin said as he started the truck.

“What’s up?”  Zhane asked.

“I have video,” Justin said, “I have my proof.  I’m leaving it in the spot, come get it when you can.  This- this is going to change everything.”

“I’m leaving now,” Zhane said, “get some sleep.”

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.  Love you,” Justin replied and hung up.


	16. Gathering Allies

As Justin pulled up to Carter’s house, he thought that things would probably go one of two ways after this visit.  Carter was sitting on the front porch, watching his daughter and her friends play in the sprinkler.  He watched Carter stand and slid out of the car before Carter could interrupt his daughter’s fun.

“Justin Stewart,” Carter said.

“Carter Grayson,” Justin replied, “long time no see.”

“I heard you moved,” Carter said as Justin headed up the front walk.

“That I did,” Justin said, “it’s been a horribly busy year for me.  How have you been?”  He gripped Carter’s hand tightly.

“Good,” Carter said, “Dana and her dad are at the base.”

Justin nodded, “I’m going there next, but I needed to speak with you privately.  I need a favor and I don’t want to make things official just yet.”

“How can I help?”  Carter asked.  “Have a seat.  I need to keep an eye on Sadie.”

Justin nodded, “Thanks.  I’m here on behalf of several interested parties, including the Megaforce Rangers.”

“Is this about their Greenie or whatever?”  Carter asked.

 “There is a facility located in the preserve outside Beacon Hills that shouldn’t be there,” Justin said.  “Not only is that where Mega Black is currently being held, but when we went looking in the database, we found this.”  Justin handed over a tablet with the video ready to start.

Carter stared at the screen for a long moment after the video was over.  “This is serious.”

Justin nodded, “Very serious.  This is a bit more than a missing black ranger now.”

 “What do you want from me?”  Carter asked.

“My people are going to take this facility down, but we need help.  We aren’t all Rangers and without a strong Ranger presence, even with the video…”  Justin hesitated.

“They can protest and maybe even win,” Carter said.  “With Rangers involved.”

“With Rangers _in charge,”_ Justin corrected him.  “Megaforce Red and I are willing to take that role with people.”

“Then why me?”  Carter asked.

“You’ve been trained for this sort of thing.  I don’t know the first thing about leading people.  My instinct is to charge the front gate at full power,” Justin said.  “Mega Red’s got a good head on his shoulder, but he’s just getting into being a Red.  If we have you along with Overdrive, we’ve got representation.”

Carter flipped through the tablet’s images, nodding slowly.  Finally, he looked up at Justin, “What’s the part you don’t want to tell me?”

Justin sighed, “I can’t tell you the full story, but the locals aren’t LEOs, although the Sheriff wants to be involved.  They have other abilities that will be an asset to the mission.  I’ve been working with them for the last year, and some of them are my friends from New York.  They’re the primary thrust to the mission because Beacon Hills is _our territory._ ”  He hesitated a moment to calm himself down.  “We’ll tell you that part if you come to Beacon Hills.  The other part is that we do have solid proof that Mega Black is at the facility.  We’re planning to launch the assault next weekend.”

Carter stared at Justin for a moment then nodded, “I want to talk this over with Dana and William, Justin, but at the moment, I’d say I’m in.”

Justin smiled, “Thanks Carter.”  He gestured, “Keep the tablet; it’s got what we know on it.  It’s also bio-locked to me and you, so no one else can use the tablet and it won’t transfer information anywhere.”

“Paranoid much?”  Carter asked.

“These people have tapped into the CCTV in Beacon Hills, any and all unsecured wifi, and they’ve made several attempts to hack my networks,” Justin said.  “I have no proof that they’re not attacking others, but I’ve been working to upgrade my group, call us the Pack, with better tech, and they all had leeches, spyware, and trojuns with the same programming language.  Language we’ve found all over that facility.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Carter said.

Justin stood, “I should go take care of the other reason I’m here then.  The Megaforce Rangers need to be in the database.”  He sighed, “And that useless Tiki of theirs.”

“The who?”  Carter asked.

“Their mentor,” Justin said, “it looks like a Tiki and it’s worth about the same as Dimitria.  His name is Gosei.”

“Right,” Carter said.  “Try not to start a revolution.”

Justin grinned at him, “That’s my brother’s job.”

TROUBLE

Carter called Justin when he got off the plane in Blue Bay Harbor to confirm he was in.  It made Justin smile as he headed for Tori and Blake’s house.  As he pulled up, he was surprised to see not only Shane’s truck, but also an unknown van sitting in the driveway.  Justin hesitated, but then he slid out and headed up to ring the doorbell.  If nothing else, he could just ask Shane for a moment of his time and try back later to answer questions.

He leaped onto the porch with a smile and reached over to ring the doorbell.  He listened as he did so, but there were several heartbeats and he didn’t know the ninjas well enough to differentiate.  As he rang the doorbell a second time, and heard Tori’s annoyed exclamation, he made a quiet note to spend time around each of the Ranger teams so he could learn to differentiate.  Hearing Blake mutter as he came to the door, Justin grinned and rang the bell again.

“Can I help you?”  Blake demanded.

Justin smirked and crossed his arms, “I don’t know,” he said, “can you?”

“Justin Stewart,” Blake said, “it’s been a while.”

“It’s been a busy year,” Justin said.  “May I come in?  I know you have company, but I need to speak with Shane.”

“It’s Dustin and Hunter,” Blake said, looking faintly irritated, “and their children.”

Justin frowned, “I know I’m out of the loop, but I thought…”

Blake laughed, “They forgot to tell us.”

Justin nodded, “So, may I come in?”

“Yeah,” Blake said, “everyone’s here, even Cam.”

“That actually works out for me,” Justin said as he adjusted his satchel.  He stepped past Blake and into the house.

“Blake, who is it?”  Tori called.

“Justin Stewart,” Blake called back.

“Hi Justin,” Tori said, “We’re all in the kitchen.”

Justin smiled and headed back to find the entire team sitting around the dining table.  Hunter had a fuzzy haired little boy in his lap playing with a truck while Dustin was cradling a sleeping girl.  “Hi,” Justin said, eyeing the two, “I heard that your team was getting bigger.”

“Yeah,” Dustin said, “this is Cassandra and he’s Christopher.  Our third child, Peter, is sleeping up stairs.”

Justin choked, “What?”  He managed after a moment.  “Your son is named Peter?”

“Yes,” Hunter said.

Justin blinked a few times, “Sorry,” he said.  “I just have a lot of very negative associations with the name Peter.  My friend Laura, she had an uncle named Peter.”  He hesitated a moment, “He went crazy and earlier this year he went on a killing spree, starting with Laura.”

“Oh Justin,” Tori said quietly.

Justin gave her a half-hearted smile, “We took care of Peter.  That’s not why I’m here.”  He took a tablet out and put it on the table.  “I’m here on behalf of the Megaforce Rangers, Leverage International, and a local group from Beacon Hills called the Pack.  We’ve found a facility with some very interesting data in its online presence.  From the information provided by the efforts of Leverage and myself, we’ve determine that this is not only an illegal facility, but it’s an SPD sponsored facility.”

“How did this come to your attention?”  Shane asked as he pulled the tablet closer to himself.

“The Megaforce Black Ranger was abducted from Beacon Hills about two weeks ago, and we’ve found proof that he’s being held here.  It was during my search that I uncovered this.”  Justin reached over to start the video.

“How have we not heard of this?”  Shane asked, catching his wrist gently.  “A missing Ranger?”

Justin frowned, “I went to Jason for help when Mega Black vanished, but they wouldn’t help.”  At Shane’s raised eyebrows, Justin straightened, “Surely you’ve heard that I’m in disgrace these day, Senior?”

“No, I haven’t,” Tori cut in.

“I refuse to refute my ties to my brother Zhane, and after his admittedly poor actions towards Antonio, it’s put me in poor favor with the Elders,” Justin said.  “I’m not saying that what Zhane did was right, hell, even he’s admitted he was wrong, not that anyone will listen to him.  I just won’t give up on my brother because he was grieving.”

“No one should have asked you to,” Shane said.

“Why didn’t you call me?”  Tori asked.

“Tony was your student,” Justin said, “and what Zhane did was wrong.  I didn’t think you’d do anything.”

“Now you know better,” Dustin said.  “This facility of yours, what are you planning?”

 “You’re planning an assault,” Shane said staring at him.

“The term is raid,” Justin said, “We’ve asked Carter Grayson to plan it because we don’t know what we’re doing.  The Pack and the Rangers will be working under his direction.  We were hoping that you and Overdrive would also agree to participate.  I realize that most of you have children, and I respect that, but we need help.”

Shane looked around the table, and then back at Justin, “I think it’s safe to say that we’re in.  We’ll figure out babysitters as we go along.”

“Come to Beacon Hills next week,” Justin said, “we’re hoping to have the assault next Saturday.”

“You’re on,” Shane said.

“What about the Dino Thunders?”  Hunter asked.

Justin stiffed slightly, then straightened, “Tommy’s followed Jason’s lead since 1993.  I’ve had no indications now that he considered otherwise.”

“Tommy doesn’t lead the Dino Thunders,” Shane said, “Conner does.  Tommy only has the morpher because they’re retired.  I think you’ll find Conner beyond eager to help out with this.”

Justin bit his lip for a moment, and then nodded.  “Would you ask them?  I haven’t spoken to Kira or Trent in years, and I never really knew Conner and Ethan.”

“I’ll do it,” Cam said.

“If they’re willing,” Justin said, “would you ask them if Hailey would be willing to take part?  I’ve got a guy who can hack the system, but it’s very complex, and a joint effort to suppress the security tech is going to be necessary.”

“Where will you be?”  Cam asked.

Justin smiled at Cam, a predator’s smile, “I’m going to be fighting, Green Ranger, with my pack.  Where did you expect me to be?”  He stepped back from the table, “I’ll leave the tablet with you.  It won’t connect with anything, so don’t try.  It’s also bio-locked to all of you.”  He hesitated, “We’ve found traces of programs in a variety of things from CCTV to wifi networks, and each program uses the same base code as the facility.  It’s very distinctive from my own work.  They’re hacked into Beacon Hills, and they might be more connected that we’ve discovered so far.  I suggest you watch your systems.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cam said.

“We’ll see you in Beacon Hills,” Shane said.

TROUBLE

Justin called ahead to the Hartford residence, knowing it was better to do so.

“Hartford residence,” the butler said.

“This is Justin Stewart,” Justin said, “I have a message for Andrew Hartford.  Code Rainbow Turbo Blue.”

“Right away, Mr. Stewart,” the butler said, “I’ll make sure Mr. Hartford is expecting you.”

“Thank you,” Justin said.  He glanced at himself in the mirror of the jet’s bathroom, making sure his tie was neat, and then he sighed and headed out.

While his approach to both Shane and Carter had been nominally casual, an old friend dropping by, Justin knew there were always reporters around the Overdrive Rangers and their hometown.  Instead of dropping by in jeans and a polo in a rental, Justin would arrive at the Hartford mansion dressed in an expensive business suit driving a Ferrari.  The CEO of Blue Mountain Cyber-Security in a meeting with the CEO of Hartford Industries about recent cyber-security advances was easy to explain away.

That’s what Justin told himself when he got to the Hartford mansion and found the place swarming with reporters.  They backed off to let him through, and Justin winced against the camera flashes.  He knew there was going to be another round of his name and face in the papers.  Especially when someone dragged up the old stories about him and Zhane.  He shrugged that off when he got to the door and slid out, hurrying up to ring the doorbell, only to be met by the Hartfords’ butler, Spencer.

“Mister Harford is expecting you sir,” Spencer said.

“Thank you, Spencer,” Justin said.

Spencer led him back to an open office where Andrew Hartford and the Overdrive Rangers were waiting.

“I didn’t expect a welcome party,” Justin admitted.

“You used a Ranger code,” Dax pointed out, “and you’re the least likely to use the code at all.”

“It’s kind of an emergency,” Justin said, “The Megaforce Rangers came to Beacon Hills for a funeral, their Red was a friend of a local girl who died recently.  We’ve been having some problems lately although we didn’t warn the Rangers before they showed up.  His black ranger was abducted during the burial.  We’ve tracked the Ranger, to a facility outside Beacon Hills, and when we investigated, we also found this.”  Justin pulled his phone out and opened up the video before passing it to Mack.  “We’re planning on a raid with help from the locals and some other Rangers, but we’ve held off because we need people who can take this to the Intergalactic Courts in the aftermath.” 

Mack whistled as he watched the video, titling the phone for the others to see.  “Unless someone else has objections, I think we’re in.”

No one spoke for a long moment.

“Excellent,” Justin said, “Carter Grayson has agreed to command the mission, and the Ninjas and Dino Thunder will be participating along with the Pack, the local people I mentioned, Megaforce and Leverage.  We’re hoping to do this next Saturday since that’s best for the Pack.”

“We’ll be there,” Mack said.

Justin turned to Andrew, “With that out of the way, Mister Hartford, I’d like to talk to you about your cyber security.”


	17. Comm Check

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if you find this boring. I promise, the next chapter will make up for it.

Carter Grayson had to admit that when Justin put together a mobile command center, he did an exceptional job.  He’d heard Jason and Billy talk about Justin’s insistence on staying on Earth and avoiding learning how most of the alien tech now in use worked.  Looking at the 3D images that came from each group’s cameras, the comm. tech that was better than LSR ever offered him, and how comfortable the discrete RV appeared.  He tapped his comm., “So Justin,” He said.

“Yeah Cap?”  Justin grunted.

“Why did you turn down that Eltare apprenticeship Zhane offered?”  Carter asked.

“Because I would have had to start from scratch and learn the ABCs all over again?  Because I’m not playing second fiddle or catch up.  On Earth, I’m inventing things my own way, and sometimes I manage to trick the Eltareans.  Nobody compares me to anyone because I’m not _like_ anybody on Earth.  I like that.”  Justin chuckled roughly.

Carter grunted, “Seems to me that learning-“

“I made my choice,” Justin snapped, “maybe if I’d gotten out at fourteen I would have been something more than just a maintenance man like Billy.”

“What?”  Carter asked.

Justin laughed bitterly, “Billy spent years doing repairs while he learned about the more advanced tech.  He’s doing more _now,_ but it took him years to get on the level.  Now, am I charging the gate or not?”

“Hold,” Carter said.  He tapped his comm. and smiled as Hartford and the other two comm. operators took their seats.  Red head Lydia sighed as she settled the headset, and Stiles glanced at her, raising his eyebrows.  Lydia shook her head slightly and Stiles sighed.  He triple tapped the comm. to connect with all the comm. systems and winced at a particularly piercing child’s shriek.  “Alright everyone, let’s check in.  Confirm your location as I call you.”  He looked down at his sheet.  “Den, go.”

“This is the Den,” a man said, sounding oddly amused.  Carter glanced at the screen over Lydia’s shoulder and saw it confirm as Chris Argent.  “Petra and the Doc preset along with the cubs.  We’re standing by for casualties and packages.”

Carter had to admire the man.  Justin had mentioned his daughter had passed away recently, but he’d shown up and offered to help during their second meeting.  Petra and Doctor Hale had asked him to help at the Den, and he’d accepted with an odd, surprised look.

“Hack, go,” Carter said quickly.

“Hackers are set and ready,” Hailey Viktor-Kendall replied quickly.  “Alec wants to think Justin for his orange soda.”

“I’ll pass that on,” Carter replied.  He wondered where Justin’s two hackers had come from.  Alec Hardison and his compatriots were friends of Will, but Justin had insisted on Alec especially taking part.  Danny on the other hand was a seventeen year old that Justin and Troy had both spoken for, practically talking over each other as they praised the kid.  Given their lack of hackers with Justin’s refusal to stay behind, they had needed Danny.

“Shadows go,” Carter said.

“Shadows are set for the run,” Trent said promptly.

Shadows, a stealth group, were Justin’s secondary group.  Whatever he was doing with them, he’d co-opted Trent and Rose to the group along with one of his own, a young man named Mik.  All Carter knew was that they were following up on Justin’s smoking gun.

“Thunder, go,” Carter said.

“Thunders set,” Hunter replied.  “Tell Justin we’re taking Wren back to the Academy with us.”

“You’ll have to fight the Pack for her,” Carter replied, wondering how Blake and Cam felt about the pretty, blonde-haired person they’d been assigned from the Pack.  “Wolves?”

“Is that the attack signal?”  Justin asked, “Because waiting is not a good luck for me.”

“Almost,” Carter said.  “You’re going to have to fight Hunter, he wants to steal Wren, and Alec says thanks for the soda.”

“Tell Hunter I’m going to rip his throat out with my teeth,” Justin replied with a growl.

“I’m really not a messenger service,” Carter said.  “Seven, go.”

“Seven set,” Spencer replied with a soft growl.  He had taken the group that would take over the building where Jack has held.  He had Will and Ronnie with him for Ranger representation as well as two of Justin’s Pack, Boyd and Kira.  None of them had really spoken of why Kira carried a katana, but she had clung to the sheathed sword like a lifeline until nobody seemed likely to question it.

“Gate go,” Carter said.

“We’re ready,” Scott replied.  He was taking the labs with a smaller group than the others were.  He’d picked his group first, a youngster named Isaac that Justin referred to quietly as his son, along with Megaforce Red and Blue, Troy and Noah.  Why he’d pick those three, Carter had no idea.

“Wind go,” Carter said.

“Wind is ready,” Shane replied.

Carter knew what to expect from Shane, Tori, and Dustin.  Ever since they’d made up their fight, even living in different countries, he could trust them.  He also knew they’d work well with Megaforce Pink and Yellow, whom Troy and Noah had said would do better as a pair.

“Dino, go,” Carter said.

“Dino set,” Conner said.

The Dino team, with the additions of Dax and Tyzonne, would coordinate with the Winds to provide back up to any team needed.  Carter hoped that they would be able to work things out with minimum trouble.

Ensuring that all the comms were functional and the voiceprints matched, Carter held the clipboard close for a moment.  “Alright Wolves,” Carter said, sending a prayer upwards for Justin, Derek, Mack, and the twins.  “Let’s go.”

Justin howled gleefully and Carter could hear Storm Blaster’s engine roar.


	18. Assault Pt1

It was quiet, just an average Saturday.  Artin wandered along the wall, nodding as he passed one of the other guards.  He tapped his fingers on the barrel of his blaster and wondered why so many of them were on guard.  Everyone knew that nobody came on a Saturday except for the few scientists who already lived on site and had spent the night out.  He turned at the corner of the fence and headed back to the gate, wondering if there would still be hot coffee when he got to the mess.

The quiet was shattered by drumming.  A rhythmic beat rolled through the forest, scaring deer and sending birds into the air.  Artin froze for a moment, then saw other guards heading for the gate, so he followed suit.

A blue truck was racing up to the compound, and as Artin got closer to the gate, his ears flattened at the noise the truck was putting out.  He could hear the crude English words, but they didn’t make sense, even with the translation and studies he’d undergone.  There was no cultural significance in the words ‘we will rock you’.

Lasers shot from the truck, hitting the gate and sending one wing flying off its hinges and making Artin duck to avoid it.  He looked up to see the truck race through the opening, leaving the reaming gate hanging from its hinges.  The truck skidded to a stop, spinning almost completely around.

A dark haired human jumped out of the truck before it had even come to a complete stop, leaving four others behind.  Dressed in a tight fighting leather vest and pants in a shocking said of blue, the brunette man crossed his arms as he surveyed the gathering of guards.  Artin fell in beside Kismet and took aim at the man.

"This facility is in violation of United States law and the Treaty of Eltare.  Lay down your weapons, you are under arrest."  He then repeated his words in Eltarean, Aurinite, Ilandrian, and Ado-Kre pidgin.

Kismet growled low and the man raised his eyebrow, "Do I need to repeat myself?"  He asked slowly.

Someone’s blaster went off.  Artin thought it was one of the rookies, no doubt eager for a fight.  The blast knocked the man into the truck and the occupants of the truck began to stand up, growling in a way Artin had never heard a human utter.

The human pushed himself up right and stripped off the now ruined vest, revealing the blaster burn already healing.  "Don’t you have any idea," he asked as his face began to distort, "how much that STINGS!"  With a roar, he leaped at the guards, with the passengers of the truck leaping to follow him.

Artin yowled his own battle cry and leaped forward as well, forgetting his blaster to meet one of the blond haired humans with claw and fang.  He had a moment of surprise when he saw the blonde had claws of his own, then he heard “Overdrive Accelerate” and it was nothing but battle.

///…\\\\\///…\\\\\///…\\\\\

Mik followed Trent and Rose into the compound; he could hear Justin’s group fighting and part of him itched to be up there.  The rest of him focused on his job, to protect these two, to find Parker, and to keep Carter from realizing that Parker had gone the night before at Justin’s request.  As he moved, he wondered if Trent and Rose fully understood what Parker was doing for Justin. 

“Hold,” he hissed at Trent and Rose, “hide.”  He glanced around and moved, leaping up onto the fire escape and moving up.

It was Parker’s best advice about keeping out of sight, people never looked up.

A small group of guards ran by.  Mik stared, because there was knowledge that there were aliens and then there was seeing a group of cats and lizards in body suits and carrying weapons running upright.  He took a deep breath as they were underneath him, noting their scents.  He’d remember that as part of his search later.

One of them started to slow down, but a boom and a roar sent them all sprinting away.

Mik sighed and scanned the area.  Once he was sure they were clear, he leaped down again.  Trent and Rose were watching him when he straightened up.  “Let’s go,” He said.

They hurried on to the entrance that Parker had cleared for them, slipping in one at a time.  As per the map they’d seen on Justin’s table, they were in a stairwell, an empty stairwell.

“Down,” Rose said.

Mik grunted and watched them head down before following himself.

They reached basement and found Parker waiting for them.  “There was security,” she said softly, “but we hacked it.  Let’s go.”

They hurried down a long white hallway and into a server room.  It looked like the one Justin had showed them, except for a small pile sitting in the middle of the room.

“Those are the data cores?”  Trent asked as they pulled the nylon bags from their pockets.

“That’s all of them,” Parker agreed.

Mik stood by the door, feeling uneasy with the lack of people.  There should have been some movement around here, even if the data cores were wiped automatically.  Someone would come down here, regardless of security.

Right on cue, Mik picked up the sound of an approaching heartbeat and he turned, “Quiet.”

The other three froze and Mik turned back to the door, listening quietly.

The rapid beat of one of the cat guards filled his ears, followed by the mix of scents that surrounded them.  Mik checked that his shadow wasn’t noticeable as the stairwell door eased open, and crouched.

There was a puff of air, a soft whistle, and then a thud.

“The grid’s shut off,” the cat said softly.

Mik let his claws slid out as he heard the cat start down the hall.  Mik glanced over his shoulder, but the others had vanished, along with the data cores.  He looked up to see Parker peering out of an air duct and Mik gestured for her to hide as he moved to the center of the room.

The cat walked around the doorframe, saw him, and froze.

Mik tucked his hands behind his back and assumed a nervous and panicked expression, “I’m a little lost,” he said nervously in German.  “I don’t suppose you can help me, could you?”

“You shouldn’t be in this facility,” the cat said.

Mik swallowed trying to maintain the appearance of a nervous, lost human, “It’s Pack territory, cat.  We can go anywhere we choose.”

The cat sniffed the air and growled, “What sort of creature are you?”

Mik tense slightly, “What do you mean?”  He asked, keeping up the German.

“I know you can understand me,” the cat said.  “No matter what gibberish you’re spitting at me.”

Mik let a lazy smile cross his face, “German is an old, well-established language, kitty.  Did you pay attention when you got here?  This is wolf territory.”  The cat hissed at him and Mik laughed, “Do you want a bowl of milk, little kitty?”

The cat lunged forward and Mik moved, shifting as he avoided the cat’s attack.

“What are you?”  The cat demanded.

“I’m a werewolf,” Mik said, “an Earth native species.”  He moved in and out, leaving a series of ragged tears in the cat’s uniform.  “You have trespassed on the McHale Pack territory.”

The cat laughed, “Yeah right.  This place is nothing.”

“You are nothing,” Mik said, making another move.

“If you were anything at all, you’d score a hit on me,” the cat said.

“Maybe I have,” Mik said.  “You didn’t just invade McHale Pack territory, Kitty.”  He jerked his head towards Rose.

After a moment, Rose dropped her invisibility.  “Your facility is illegal and in violation of the laws and treaties of Earth and the Eltarean Union.  I am Rose Hernandez of Earth, Pink Overdrive Ranger.  I suggest you surrender.”

The cat tilted his head down, “Control, there are Rangers, Earthian Rangers.”

After a moment, the cat turned to stare at Mik who wiggled his clawed fingers.  “You didn’t think we would let you sound the alert did you?  Now, do you surrender or not?”

The cat hesitated for a long moment, then shrugged and held up his hands.  “They don’t pay me enough for this.”

Trent stepped away from the wall, touching his ear, “Command, we have a prisoner and mission accomplished.”

He nodded after a moment, and looked up, “We’re too create a holding space for others who surrender and wait.  The others will bring prisoners to us.  LSR security will be here this afternoon to collect everyone.”

“Awesome,” Mik said, hearing Parker scramble away, with faint dragging sounds indicating that she was taking away the data cores.  “Babysitting duty.”


	19. Assault Pt2

Scott led his team into an alcove off the third floor stairwell and braced himself against the wall as he tried to catch his breath.

“Hey Scott,” Stiles said.

“What’s up, Stiles?”  Scott asked, watching Isaac scan the hallway.  Clearly Carter had given up on trying to make Stiles conform to standard radio protocols.  Scott had tried to warn Carter that it was hopeless.

“New orders from our Lord and Master,” Stiles said, “there are helicopters on the roof preparing to take off and we need to keep them grounded.  At least one of them has a teen hostage.”

“We’re on it,” Scott said, he collected his team with a glance and a nod.  “We’re needed on the roof guys.  There are helicopters that we need to keep grounded and a possible hostage.”

“Do we have a plan?”  Troy asked.

“We will when we see what’s up there,” Scott said.

“Then let’s go,” Isaac said, kicking open the stairwell door and charging in.

“Come on Noah,” Troy said, “At least we’re bullet proof.”

“But not bruise proof,” Noah said as he followed his Red up the stairs.

Scott shook his head as he took up the rear.

Isaac was crouched by door marked ROOF ACCESS.  “We have guards,” he told Scott.  “I didn’t smell any wolfsbane, just gun power and such.  I think I also smelled our hostage, but you know.”

“Yeah,” Scott said.  “If we walk out the door will we be seen?”

“Nobody,” Isaac said.  “Looks like an outdoor café or something, like for smokers.  Looks to the edge of the building.  The copters are around behind the building.”

“Let’s go then.  Noah, Isaac, cut left.  See if you can’t get to the hostage.  Troy, we’ll go right, be the diversion and see what we can do about those copters.”

“Scott,” Stiles cut in, “our lord and master wants you to limit the explosions.”

“Without blowing anything up,” Scott muttered.

“That wasn’t really our fault,” Troy said, “no one knew that would happen.”

“Save if for the debrief,” Scott said, “Let’s see what we can do about disabling rotors and knocking out pilots.”

Isaac nodded, opened the door and darted out, Noah following moments later.  Scott glanced at Troy, imagining what his friend looked like under his helmet, and then he slipped out the door.  He eased around the corner of the building and studied the layout before them.  Two dozen beings with guns stood among five helicopters, one of which had spinning rotors.

“I got it,” Troy muttered before stepping out and snapping a shot at the rotors.  There was a shower of sparks and the rotors stopped.

“Let’s go,” Scott said.

“I thought you’d enjoy a chance to test your skills,” Troy said.

“Maybe I do,” Scott replied, “but they taste awful.”

///…\\\\\///…\\\\\///…\\\\\

Spencer led his group into the first basement of the science complex.  Boyd had point, taking advantage of his enhanced senses while Ronnie followed on his heels.  Spencer could hear Kira behind him, her katana scraping briefly off the wall.  He wondered again why they had insisted on the girl being a part of this when she was lacking even the basic built-in weapons of the wolves.  He was doubly unsure why they’d insisted she be on his team either.

Suddenly Boyd halted, looking around.

“What is it?”  Spencer asked quietly.

Boyd growled softly, “I’m not sure yet.  It’s probably trouble though.”

“Of course it is,” Spencer growled.  “Will, where are we?”

“According to the map, there are four corridors branching off this one, there are four rooms to a corridor.  All of them are the same size,” Will replied, eyes flicking from his screen to the corridor.

“Let’s go then,” Spencer said.  “Boyd, stick to this main corridor, let us know if anything’s coming.  Will, Ronnie, on doors.  Kira, you’re with me.”

When Spencer looked at Kira, for a moment he could have sworn her eyes turned orange before she dropped her eyes and nodded.  Spencer turned and watched as Boyd headed down the hall to the first corridor.  He glanced both ways then nodded back at the rest of the group.  Spencer led the other three into the corridor, holding his hand out to keep Kira with him while Will and Ronnie split to begin testing doors.

The first corridor turned up nothing except rooms that looked like bedrooms, with two twin beds, a desk and chair, a small closet, and a bathroom with a shower stall, toilet and sink.

“There’s no mirror,” Kira said.

“What?”  Spencer asked.

“There’s no mirror in any of the bathrooms,” Kira said.

Spencer frowned, wondering what the girl was getting at.

“If I was being held here, and I had a mirror, I’d smash it to have a weapon,” Kira said after a moment.  She shrugged, “Justin did a drill on abductions a few weeks ago.  It was one of the things he mentioned.”

Spencer glanced at Boyd, who shrugged, and the Rangers who just stood.  “Let’s go,” Spencer said, leading the way to the next corridor.  The next two corridors had only empty rooms, although one of them showed signs of being hastily vacated.

“Seven to command,” Spencer said as he studied the messy room.

“Go command,” Hartford replied.

“We’ve found a bunch of rooms down here furnished like bedrooms.  We’re not done clearing them all, but we found one that had an occupant recently.”  Spencer said.

“Not more than an hour,” Boyd said, “scent’s not faded yet.”

“Boyd said an hour or less,” Spencer said.

“We’ll pass it on,” Hartford said after a moment.  “Let us know when you finished your sweep; we may need you in building three.  Command out.”

“Yes sir, Seven out.”  Spencer said, “Let’s finish this.”

The first door Will opened on the last corridor slammed open as soon as he unlocked in, and someone slammed into him with a snarl.  “Erica?”  Boyd said.  Spencer glanced at him, but a second snarl from within the room drew him back to the confrontation.  A smaller figure darted past Will and the person he was fighting, stopping only when Kira’s katana appeared at her throat.

“Erica!”  Boyd said.

The girl, Spencer could tell now, although she had the same enhanced features of the other werewolves, looked away from her struggle with Will.  “Boyd?”  She said.

“Erica, I thought,” Boyd began, shoving past Spencer.

“Boyd!”  Erica threw herself away from Will, and bounding forward to be swept up in Boyd’s hug.

Spencer glanced at the other girl, and she was a girl, no more than thirteen with wild curls and dark skin that made her glowing golden eyes stand out even more.  She was watching Erica and Boyd closely, lip curled to expose a fang.  “Erica?”  She finally said.

“Danni,” Erica said, easing out of Boyd’s hug enough to see the other girl, “It’s okay.  Boyd’s pack.”

“Pack?”  The girl repeated, looking at the rest of the group, especially Kira and her katana.

“Boyd, this is Danni,” Erica said, “she’s been here longer than I have.  Danni, this is Boyd.”

“Hi,” Danni said.

“Hi,” Boyd replied.

Spencer cleared his throat, “Boyd?”  He said.

“Uh, Mister Spencer, everyone, this is Erica Reyes.  I thought…  Derek found…”  Boyd looked at Erica.

“They faked up a body,” Erica said.  “That bitch Alpha sold me to this place on orders.  They said you wouldn’t bother looking for me if you had a body.”

Boyd buried his face in her hair for a minute, and then looked around, “Well, this is Kira Yukimura, she’s Pack too.  The Rangers are Will and Ronnie from Overdrive, and this is our group leader, Elliot Spencer.”

“Are you guys here to bust us out?”  Erica asked, “Like everyone?”

“Depends on who everyone is,” Spencer said.

“Um,” Erica said, “there’s Dawn, she’s a druid, sort of, and the boys, Nick and Eric, they’re vampires.  Liam’s human, and then there’s the new boy, Jake.”  She hesitated a moment, “Boyd, Allison’s here.”

“Allison, our Allison?”  Kira said, “Allison Argent?”

“Yeah,” Erica said, glancing at Kira, then back up at Boyd.  “She’s in that room,” she pointed across from her own.

Before anyone could react Kira scowled at the door, then whipped her katana around to slice the lock in two.  The door opened and a dark haired girl leaped out with a wood stick in her head.  “Allison,” Kira said.

“Kira?”  Allison said.

The girls hugged, Kira holding her sword out to one side.

“Seven,” Hartford said suddenly, “is everything okay?”

“We’re fine,” Spencer said, “we’ve found civilians.  No sign of the package yet.”

“Right,” Hartford said.

Realizing he had everyone’s attention, Spencer frowned, “We need to find Jake, if he’s down here.”

“His room’s over here, with Nick and Eric,” Allison said.  “They had to move Liam last week, but they’re over here.”

“Let’s get them out,” Spencer said.

“You’re pack?”  Erica asked Kira.

“I guess,” Kira said, “Scott said I was.”

“That’s right,” Erica said, “I forgot.  Is it weird, with Scott as the Alpha?”

“It’s all right,” Boyd said.  “He lets Justin handle all the training, which is nice.”

Kira snickered, “Justin was showing me some sword techniques last week and Derek came in and Justin went, ‘Derek, I know you’re insanely nosy, but you’re not my Alpha.  If you don’t stop interrupting my private sessions I will use you for my berserker training.’  Derek literally ran away.  It was awesome.”

“I’ve seen him train,” Erika said, “I would have run too.”

“As would anyone with a brain stem,” Kira replied.

Spencer cleared his throat, “Please be quiet.”

“There’s no one down here,” Erica said.  “They all took off when the alarms went off.  Just shoved us back in our rooms and left.  They went to go work on the data cores.”

“Data cores?”  Spencer said.

“It’s one level down,” Danni said.  “It’s an auxiliary, but the scientists all go down there when the alarms go off because of the security.”

Spencer nodded, “Control, this is Seven.  There’s an auxiliary data core in a sub basement in two.  After we secure the civilians for transport, we’re going down.  Possible hostiles.”

“We read Seven,” Hartford said promptly.

Will and Ronnie had gotten the remaining two doors open.  Out of the first walked a pair of pale skinned, red haired boys who held hands and watched them with big green eyes, Spencer estimated them to be about sixteen. 

“This is Eric and Nick,” Erica said.  “They’ve been here the longest.”

The second door opened up to reveal their target, Jake Holling.  He stared around the group, “What’s going on?”

“I’m Elliot Spencer,” Spencer said, “we’re part of a force put together to find you and shut this base down.  If you’ll come with us please.”

Jake frowned.  “It’s okay,” Kira said, “I know we didn’t actually meet properly, but surely you remember Boyd and I from the funeral.”

“Yeah,” Jake said.  He gestured, “I recognize you two Rangers as well.”

“All right,” Will said, “Spencer’s right, we need to move.  I’m sorry we had to meet this way, I’ve been a bit busy.”

“It’s okay,” Jake said, “I’ve been busy too.”

Spencer wanted to growl, but didn’t, instead he turned, “Control, this is Seven.  We have found the package.  I repeat, we have found the package.  We’re coming topside to secure transportation.”

“We’re sending Wind in to provide escort,” Hartford replied.

“Copy that,” Spencer said.

“There’s a stairwell over there,” Erica said, “they let us out to go over to the gym twice a day.”

“Let’s go,” Spencer said.

They headed up the stairs and out into a wide-open space facing the interior of the compound.  Most of the explosions and gunfire had tapered off, so Spencer hoped things would be smoothing sailing from now on.

A loud roar echoed through the compound.

“Scott,” Kira said.

“Alpha,” Boyd said before taking off running with Erica on his heels.

“What the?”  Will said.

“Their Alpha called,” Danni said, “even if he didn’t mean to summon them, he did.”

“Why didn’t you go?”  Ronnie asked.

“Scott isn’t my Alpha,” Danni said, “not yet.  I just want to get out of here.”

“Right,” Spencer said, “let’s move.”

They headed around the side of the building to find the Wind Rangers standing around a white van.  “What happened?”  Shane asked.

“No clue,” Spencer replied, “no word from Control either.”

“Hopefully everything will be okay,” Shane said, “everybody in the van.  Jake, your morpher is waiting for you at forward command.”

“All right,” Jake said, “I missed that thing.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!!!!


	20. Assault Pt3

Scott could barely make out the kid in the helicopter as it lifted off.  He was a bit distracted by a group of persistent guards that kept him from getting close.

“Isaac,” he called.

“I’m trying,” Isaac called back, and the crowd around Scott shifted enough for Scott to see that his friend was fighting his own group of guards.

“I have a shot,” Troy called.

Scott ducked under a punch.

“There’s a kid in there,” Noah protested.

“I know,” Troy replied.

The helicopter’s door swung open and the kid scrambled out onto the landing gear.  This would have been okay, except that the helicopter was already a good ten feet off the ground.

“Shit,” Isaac said.

“Scott,” Troy called.

“I see him,” Scott replied.  He jammed his claws into the shoulder of his most persistent attacker and raced across the roof.

The kid was clearly struggling with someone inside the helicopter, and Scott hoped that he wouldn’t fall before Scott was ready for him.

Pain exploded in Scott’s shoulder, along with the whine of one of the guards’ guns after a discharge and Scott hit the ground as Isaac roared in anger.  Scott pushed himself up, gripping his shoulder even as he felt the skin begin to knit itself back together.

Like a slow motion action sequence, the kid missed his footing and began to fall.  Scott tried to scramble up, despite the lingering pain of the blaster shot.  He heard and saw Isaac beginning to run across the roof with Troy and Noah just behind him.  Then the kid hit the ground with a meaty thump.

It took Scott a long minute to realize that the loud sound he heard was himself, howling.  He stared at the body, feeling helpless in a way he was becoming all too familiar with since the night they’d saved Jackson and stopped Gerard.

“No!”

“Liam!”

Aidan and Ethan almost knocked Scott sprawling as they tore past him to kneel beside the boy.

“What happened?”  Justin asked as he helped Scott steady himself.

“He- they had him in the helicopter,” Scott said, “he fell.”

“Who is he?”  Derek asked as he joined them.

Aidan looked up from where he knelt by the boy, “Our cousin,” he said.  “His name’s Liam.  He’s been… missing.”

“We thought…”  Ethan didn’t look at them.  “We thought Deucalion…”

“Scott.”

Scott turned and stared as Boyd joined them on the roof, followed by…  _“Erica?”_

“Scott,” Erica said hesitantly.  “I heard you call…”

Scott nodded slightly and turned back to watch as Mik and Wren arrived.  “Did I?”

“Yeah,” Derek said.  “We all heard it.”

Scott looked at them, “Petra…”

“Probably on her way,” Justin said, sounding amused.

“Scott,” Aidan said.  “Could you… would you…  you’re an Alpha.”

“But,” Scott said.

“Liam’s always wanted the Bite,” Ethan said, “Aunt Lisa said no.  Not until he was eighteen.”

“That actually works,” Justin said.  “The bite can stabilize him long enough to access the facilities’ medical features.  They’re from Ketrian and they are some of the most advanced available.  All we’d have to do is get him down there.”

Scott hesitated, not sure he wanted to give the bite to someone who was unconscious.  “Do it,” Derek said.

“It is easier to ask forgiveness,” Boyd offered.

“They’re right,” Erica said, “Liam told me that he wanted the bite, he asked me questions all the time.”

Scott closed his eyes and nodded.  “Let’s do this.”  He leaned over and sank his teeth into Liam’s arm.

///…\\\\\///…\\\\\///…\\\\\

Spencer wanted to hurt someone.  Something had caused the Alpha-kid to summon the werewolves, leaving him with a worried teenage girl and two clueless Rangers.

“Seven, Command,” Harford said, “Boyd will need more time to help Scott.  Please finish clearing the building.”

“What happened?”  Spencer asked.

“We don’t know.”

Spencer growled and glanced at his team.  “Come on,” he said, “we still have work to do.”

They headed back inside the building and down to the basement.  As they cleared the last room, Kira leaned against a wall, “I still want to know where everybody went,” she began, then yelped as the wall gave away and dumped her onto a landing.  “Oh,” she said, sounding happy.

Spencer sighed and gestured, “Ronny, you’re up first.”

“Yes boss,” Ronny replied and headed down the stairs.  Will helped Kira up and they followed Ronny down.

The stairs opened onto a long corridor with a single doorway.  “Well that’s interesting,” Ronny muttered.

“Hold on,” Kira said, “something’s…” she pulled a small rubber ball from her pocket and threw it into the hallway.

Two feet down the hall, electricity began to arc and strike at the ball, burning it to ash in seconds.  After a few moments, the electricity all vanished.

“Shit,” Spencer muttered.

“It’s not that bad,” Kira said, she held out her sword, “hold this for a minute, please.”

Ronny took the sword, “What are you going to do?”

Kira smirked, “This is what I’m here for.”  She lifted her chin and walked into the always, holding her hands out from her body.

“What,” Spencer began, stepping forward.  Will grabbed his arm, and Spencer stared as the electricity began.

At first, it struck Kira all over, but finally it began to concentrate on her hands.  The lights began to flicker and the bolts began to hit with less frequency.  As she reached the doors, there was a snap-pop sound, a flash of light, and then the electricity vanished, leaving the hall lit only by a few bulbs.

“Damn,” Will said, letting go of Spencer.

“Are you crazy?”  Spencer demanded, storming towards Kira.

“No,” Kira said, “but I am a lightning Kitsune.  This isn’t the most lightning I’ve ever handled either.  I’m not here just to wave a sword and be cute.”

“Here,” Ronny said, passing over her sword.  “Can you do anything else?”

“Not really,” Kira said, “I’ve just started coming into my powers.  Mostly I have good sword skills and can absorb electricity.  Oh, I can explode light bulbs too, so I’m hoping I can develop more abilities in time.”

Spencer stared at the door, “I guess we need to go in.”

“Hold on,” Will said and took off his helmet.  He tilted his head and half closed his eyes.  There was a faint flash of black over his eyes and then he raised his head.  “There are a number of people in there, some of them panicked, as well as radios.”  He looked at Spencer, “I’m not a werewolf, but I have genetic enhancements to my hearing and sight.”

“Right,” Spencer said.  “I want you and Ronny to take point.  Try not to kill anyone.”

“Absolutely,” Ronny said.

“Back to action,” Will said.  There was a flash of light and he was wearing his helmet again.

The two Rangers pulled their blasters, exchanged glances and nods, and then they kicked the doors open.  Screams echoed out of the room as the Rangers stepped in, blasters level.

“Nobody move!”  Ronny called, “This facility is in violation of Earthian law and treaty.  Surrender and prepare for transport.”

There was a shout and laser fire erupted.  Spencer moved to one side of the doorway, glancing over at Kira, who looked nervously at the marks on the far wall.  There were a few thuds and a small explosion before the laser fire ended.

“We surrender,” someone said, “please don’t shoot.”

“Stand against the wall,” Will said, “keep your hands in sight.”

“Spencer, Kira, it’s clear,” Ronny called.

A half-dozen people lay on the floor with Ronny crouched over one of them, as well as another six sitting on the floor where Will was binding their hands behind their back.  Four people were standing along the wall, hands raised.

“Excuse me,” one of the standing people said, “but there’s an alert on the cryo chambers, I can see the screen from here.  There are living people in those chambers, they might be in danger.  Please, may I check the screen?”

Spencer frowned a moment, then looked at Kira.  “Keep an eye on him; if he tries anything, I want you to fry the computer.”

Kira hesitated, then nodded, “Just you,” she said, pointing at the man.

“Thank you,” the man said and hurried over to the computer.

Spencer pointed at the oldest of the remaining group, “Who are you?”  He asked.

“My name is Denia of Madripor,” the man said, “I’m a scientist for SPD.  I was told that this was a legitimate facility and the experiments were sanctioned.  Then they put me in a cryo-pod and brought me here.  I wasn’t allowed to leave or contact outsiders and if I didn’t work to standard, they cut my food, my comforts, and weren’t above threatening my life.  I want to testify against them.”

Spencer nodded and pointed at the next person, “And you?”

“Kadilain of Ilan,” the girl said as she shoved her green and brown hair from her face.  “I was captured by marauders with SPD badges hidden away and brought here.  I used to be a Ranger, but I sent my morpher back rather than be used against my people.  They used me as a lab assistant, work for food.”

“Brendan of Amaranth,” the third said before Spencer could ask.  “I was hired by SPD.  When I found that they were threatening me to get my Liege to do things for them, I tried to quit.  They drugged me and sent me here.  I was forced to work for my keep, like Kadilain.”

“Mister Spencer,” Kira called.

“Don’t move,” Spencer told the trio.  He headed to the computers across the room, “What?”

“The cryo chambers are damaged,” the man said, looking up at him.  “We have to awaken the children.”

“Children?”  Spencer said.

“Yes, the Ranger children,” the man said.  “SPD has been collecting children for experiments, not just Ranger children, but children with unusual abilities.  These are, pardon the term, the prize of the collection.”

“Wake the children,” Spencer ordered.  He stepped away, “Control, this is Seven.  We have prisoners, including some people who were taken hostage.”

“We’re sending in backup,” Hartford said after a minute.

“Boss,” Ronny said, “it’s Emma Johanason.”

Spencer turned to find Ronny standing beside a long tube that extended from the wall.  “You’re sure,” he asked.

“Positive,” Ronny said.

“Control, seven,” Spencer said, “we have found the unicorn.”

 


	21. Dynamic Shift

“Put him on that bio-bed,” Justin ordered as they walked into the facility’s medical center, he pointed at the nearest bed.  He moved to the console and called up the emergency medical programs, taking the hypo-probe that emerged from the console at the same time.  Programs ready to receive, Justin turned and went to inject the probe that would allow the program to fully detect all of the injuries and heal them.

He moved past Scott, who stood at the head of the bio-bed, staring down at Liam, and reached to inject the probe in Liam’s neck.

He didn’t even see Scott move, only became aware of it as searing pain shot up his arm as Scott grabbed him and held tight.

“Scott!”  Troy said.

“No,” Derek said.  “Justin.”

“I forgot,” Justin said, “it’s okay.”  He looked at Scott, not quite meeting his eyes enough to see that they were Alpha red.  He looked down and tilted his head, openly baring his throat.  “Alpha,” he said, “I’m sorry Alpha.  I want to help him.  This will help him.”  He kept his voice even and soothing, forcing himself to keep his pain and fear from surfacing in his voice.  An Alpha protecting an injured and new Beta was dangerous, if Justin had been thinking, he would have remembered that.  Now, he had to hope that Scott’s casual yet wholesale adoption of Derek’s pack would override the instinct to protect the person who was essentially his firstborn child.

After a long moment, Scott’s hand eased and Justin carefully pulled back.  Then he leaned over, keeping his movements smooth and open, to inject the probe in Liam’s neck.  That done, he heard the beep of the machine signaling the activation of the probe.  He backed away slowly, and turned to the console, reaching over to put the hypo into the return chute.

He winced slightly as the movement pulled on his clawed arm, but he didn’t make any move to bandage it.  He needed to know Scott was back with them before he dared to heal himself with the equipment, he wasn’t sure what their Alpha would see as a threat to Liam.

There was a soft ding and one of the screens flashed.  Justin reached over and tapped it, reading it’s message and translating the Eltarean automatically.  He frowned and tapped the screen, ordering it to rerun the test. 

“That’s not right,” he murmured, frowning.  Then he turned, “Ethan, can you come here for a moment.”

“Okay,” Ethan said, giving the bio-bed a wide birth, and followed by Aidan.  “What do you need?”

“Can you, would you provide me with a blood sample?”  Justin asked, “I need to see something.”

“Okay,” Ethan said after a moment.

Justin pointed to a softly glowing square, “Just let a few drops fall on that.”

“Both of us?”  Aidan asked.

Justin sighed, “Sure, a wide sample can ensure fewer errors.  Just do it one at a time.”

He turned back to his console, unwilling to watch as the twins cut themselves and let the blood fall.  In less time than before, Justin had his results, and he was doubly glad that the machine was displaying in Eltarean and not English.

“Is that bad?”  Ethan asked.

“No,” Justin said, “it’s not… it’s not about Liam exactly.  It’s a subroutine, something everyone gets scanned with.”  He turned to look at the room, “It’s just odd.  Derek, Troy, would you mind also providing samples?”

“Sure,” Troy said.

Derek stared at him for a moment, then walked over and dripped blood on the appropriate square.

“Now what?”  Scott asked tightly.  “Would you like mine too?”

“All right,” Justin said.

All the tests came back and Justin spread them on the large screen.  He knew it was a risk that Rose was nearby and could read Eltarean, but he had to _see._   It didn’t make sense.

Then suddenly it did.

“That son of a bitch,” he whispered.

“What?”  Scott asked.

“Hold on,” Justin said as he activated his comm., “Hardison, do you copy.”

“Here,” Alec said promptly.

“Are you busy or can you do me a favor?”  Justin asked.

“I’ve got time,” Alec said.

“I need you to find my file for job number whiskey tango seven nine eight zip on the Mountain servers.  There should be a sub-file labeled blackmail subject D and one labeled blackmail subject T.  That’s D as in dawn and T as in top.  There should be a case number on both of them, I need to know if they match.”

“On it,” Alec said, “and yes they do.”

Justin grinned, “Thanks man.  I’ll let you get back to work.”

“No problem,” Alec replied.

Justin turned to the others, “So,” he said, still grinning.  “About a month ago, as part of our incentives for coming to town, we did security upgrades for several businesses in town, and I learned a very interesting secret.”

“What kind of secret?”  Scott asked.

“Well, one of the businesses in question was the Beacon Reproductive Clinic,” Justin said.

“The sperm bank?”  Isaac said.

“Yup,” Justin said.

“You know who my father is,” Troy said.

“I do,” Justin replied, “I wasn’t sure if you were aware of that.”

“It was a memorable learning experience,” Troy said.

“Well, I don’t know the story behind this, and I doubt we ever will,” Justin said, “but Troy, you and Derek, well, you’re related.”

“Please tell me it’s not Peter,” Troy said.

“No,” Justin said, “and Derek, from the date, I think this was before.”

“Before?”  Derek said.

“You’re half-brothers,” Justin said gently.  “You have the same father.  Why your father chose to donate, I don’t know, but it was before your parents had formal acknowledgement of their relationship.”

The two of them looked at each other, and Justin hoped that Derek would see what Justin had, not the appearance, but the mannerisms, the movements that came naturally to both of them.  He’d had time to observe them, and he could see where they matched.

“Okay, that’s weird, but what freaked you out before that?”  Isaac said.

“That’s a little more complicated,” Justin said, “and annoying.  Aidan, what do you know about Liam’s dad?”

“Uh,” Aidan hesitated, “his name was…  Johnny or John.  She’s used both.  They dated for a few months before he moved because of his job.  She liked him, but she wasn’t in love with him.”

“Ethan, do you know anything about your own dad?”

“No,” Ethan said, “Mom said he was a one night stand when they were both miserable and coming off break-ups.  I never heard his name.”

“Neither have I,” Aidan said.  “Aunt Krystal might know.”

Justin nodded and looked around the room for a moment.  “My mom died seventeen years ago,” he said finally.  “My dad buried himself in a bottle for months afterwards and I lived with an old friend of my mom.  One day, my dad picked me up after school, and he couldn’t stop apologizing for not being there for me.  It’s the first time that particular cycle of grief and alcohol happened, so I tend to remember it.  I’ve never known what kicked him out of that cycle, but it leads me to the next question I had.  When is your birthday?”

“September 7th,” Ethan said, frowning.

Justin saw Aidan’s eyes widen slightly and he sighed.

“My mom died in November.  My dad picked me up on February 13th.”  Justin said, “And now it makes sense.”

“What does?”  Scott said.

“It wasn’t a break-up was it,” Aidan said.

“No,” Justin said.  He sighed, “Aidan, Ethan, and I are related by our shared father.  Given the dates, I’d say that my dad was drunk, had a one night stand, and had a walk of shame wake up call.”  He offered his hand to the twins, “He’s living in Japan, if you wanted to meet him, ever.  He’s remarried, has a daughter.  We talk at Christmas, but we’re not close, haven’t been for years if we ever were.”

“That wasn’t what first set you off,” Boyd said quietly.

“No,” Justin said, “and that’s the confusing part.”

“How so?”  Ethan asked.

“Because according to the scans, Liam is _also_ my paternal half-brother.”


	22. Family Bonds

There was a soft groan cutting through the sudden silence, and they turned to see Liam sitting up.  “What happened?”  He asked.  Liam stared at them and frowned, “Aidan?  Ethan?”

Aidan jolted slightly before hurrying over, “Hey, cuz.  How are you feeling?”

“Good,” Liam said, frowning.  “I- wasn’t I on a helicopter?”

“More like, you fell from a helicopter,” Justin muttered as he worked over the screen.

“I fell?”  Liam said.

Justin looked to Scott, “He’s fully healed now.  Transition complete without a problem.”

Scott sighed, “Okay.”

“What happened?”  Liam asked.

“Liam, you fell,” Aidan said, “you were hurt bad.”

“You were dying,” Justin said bluntly.  “We couldn’t move you here, so it would have been long and painful.”

“Really?”  Scott said, glaring at Justin.

“How did you move me?”  Liam asked.

Justin walked over, “Did you know that the bite of an Alpha can stabilize a body for upwards of fifteen minutes before rejection or acceptance?  It creates a sort of stasis effect and can even reverse damage.”

Liam stared at Aidan, “Did you give me the bite?  Ethan?”

“We- we aren’t Alphas anymore,” Ethan said as he sat on the edge of the bio-bed.  “There was a fight, we were lucky to survive at all.”

“Then,” Liam said.

Scott stepped forward, “I’m Scott McCall, the local- local Alpha.  I’m sorry.”

“Why?”  Liam asked, “I’ve wanted to be a werewolf since I was old enough to understand why my cousins were different.  Mom said I had to be eighteen though.”  He paused, “Crap, she’s going to kill me.”

“I think having a choice between you dying and you living, she’ll forgive you,” Justin said quietly.

Liam raised his eyebrows and glanced at Aidan and Ethan, “We’re still pack, though, right?”

The twins hesitated.

“Of course,” Scott said firmly.  He reached over and gripped Aidan’s arm, “That much I can promise.”

Liam’s smile was bright.

“We do have an interesting situation,” Justin said.

“Now?”  Aidan asked.

“Well, I think it’s better if we get it all out now, before LSR gets here.”  Justin replied, “I’ve already cleared the tests, but they’ll probably realize something’s up because of what Hardison looked up for me.  It’s better for us to know before they start asking questions.”

“Scott?”  Ethan asked.

Scott hesitated, “Justin’s right.  We should get this over with.”

“What?”  Liam asked.

“According to the body and blood scans the medical computer has run we’re related,” Justin said.  “We’re half-brothers.”

“What does that mean?”  Liam asked.

“For right now, it means that I can claim you and keep you from being questioned or some such bullshit by LSR or testifying in court,” Justin said.  “You’ll be able to go home, and sometime in the next week, you’ll be invited to give a statement with someone present to help you do it without suffering emotional distress.”

“Why?”  Liam asked.

“Our older brother is a Power Ranger,” Justin said calmly, “and I work for people who are associated with Rangers as a part of my business.”  He hesitated a long moment, “And according to those tests, Aidan and Ethan aren’t just your cousins, they’re your half brothers, paternal side.”

After a long moment, Liam nodded, “So you know my father?”

Justin snorted, “Trust me, stick to Dunbar.  Johnny Stewart’s not worth it.”

Their comms clicked.  “I’m going to assume whatever your emergency was, it’s been somewhat solved now?”  Carter said dryly.

“Yeah,” Justin said, “we’re good.”

“Awesome,” Carter said.  “We’ve had a situation come up, so we’re sending Lightspeed Agents in now.  If you want to clear your people out soon.”

“A situation?”  Scott asked.

“Well, we found a couple of children we’ve been searching for,” Carter said.

“Emma?”  Justin said, “Kai’s twins?”

“All three,” Carter said, “plus two others.”

“All right,” Justin said.

“According to Parker, her people are all clear too,” Carter added.

“Good,” Justin said.

“We’re going to pull out,” Scott announced.  “We’re going back to the Den.  Send my people as soon as you can release them.  Things are a bit interesting around here.”

“Will do,” Carter said.

///…\\\\\///…\\\\\///…\\\\\

They gathered at Justin’s house, spreading out in the great room, filling it up in a way that left Liam impressed.  Boyd had Erica in his lap, unwillingly to release her for anything even as everyone else hugged her and Allison carefully settled between an awed Isaac and a nervous Scott.

Liam hovered between the couch where Scott was sitting and the ottoman where Aidan and Ethan were sitting.  Newly awoken instincts made him want to be close to his Alpha, but it had been years since he’d seen his cousins.  _Brothers,_ he corrected himself, still not sure he believed the tests that said that not only were Aidan and Ethan his _cousins,_ they were also his _brothers,_ along with the older, seemingly distant Justin.

“Hey, Aidan, Ethan, Liam,” Justin called from the alcove he’d been standing in, “Can you guys come here for a moment?”

Liam looked at Scott, who glanced up and nodded at him, and then he followed Aidan and Ethan.

The alcove had a computer with a large screen and an empty desk chair.  Aidan pushed Liam into the chair as Liam stared at the person on the screen.  Zhane of KO-35 was watching them with an amused expression.

“Zhane,” Justin said, “these are the twins, Aidan and Ethan.  I know I’ve mentioned them before, but this is Liam Dunbar.  Guys, this is your oldest brother.”

“Nice to meet everyone,” Zhane said, “Justin, next time, we need a sister.”

“Dad’s got a little girl now.”  Justin offered, “Named Kitty.”

“Poor kid,” Zhane said, “you four are going to be competing for world’s most overprotective brother.”

“Only competing?”  Justin said.

“Eh, it’ll take a lot to beat Andros,” Zhane replied.  “He still hasn’t forgiven me for being with Karone.”

“Hey that’s right,” Justin said as he grinned, “we’ve got nephews and a niece too.  Zhane’s married.”

“We have Isaac too,” Zhane pointed out.

“Bloodlines,” Justin said, “I was counting the Stewart bloodline.”

“Right,” Zhane said.  He blinked and looked away for a moment, “Well, I need to go.  I have a meeting to get to and I’m sure you guys need to talk to Liam’s mom, right?”

“Right,” Justin said.

Zhane grinned at them, “We’ll talk later, and I’ll be back on Earth soon.  Welcome to the family.”  He reached forward and the screen cut off.

“We’re related to Zhane of KO-35,” Liam said, twisting to look up at Aidan, “how cool is that?”

“Very cool,” Aidan said, grinning back at him.  Ethan nodded and smiled as well.

“Just remember that we try not to talk about that,” Justin said.  “I let it slip when I was about Liam’s age, and there was a media frenzy.  It’s what got me started on security, actually.  You guys need even less scrutiny than I did.”

“It’s for me to know, and them to find out,” Liam said, sliding out of his chair.  Justin made an odd choking noise, “What?”

Justin blinked and shook his head, “Nothing, sorry.  Just a bit of déjà vu.”

“Someone make changes to the Matrix again?”  Wren asked as she came over to lean against Justin.  “We’re ordering pizzas; you guys should get your orders in.”

“Meat lovers,” Justin said as his phone rang.  “Doctor Stewart,” he said, absently wrapping an arm around Wren’s shoulders.  “Hi Sheriff, what’s going on?”

Liam followed the twins back to the ottoman and found himself drawn between the twins and across from Scott. 

“What kind of pizza do you want?”  Kira asked.

“Meat lovers,” Liam said along with his cousins. 

“Justin said he wanted the same thing,” Aidan added.

“Right,” Kira said as she made marks on a sheet of paper, “thanks.”

Liam leaned against Ethan and closed his eyes.  Ethan put his arm over Liam’s shoulders and hugged him tightly.  It was good to be surrounded by his family again.  Things hadn’t been _bad_ at the facility, but it had been lonely, and there hadn’t been a lot of tactile contact like Liam was used to.

“Liam, Aidan, Ethan,” Justin said, “The sheriff was able to track down Krystal Dunbar.  Since she lives here in Beacon Hills, he’s going to bring her over.  Unfortunately, Doctor Dunbar is on shift at the hospital.”

“Oh that’s okay,” Liam said, “Dad doesn’t know about werewolves.  Mom chose not to tell him since she’s human and all.  Mom was a human born to werewolves, and Aunt Caroline was a werewolf.”

“Okay,” Justin said.  “They’ll be here any minute now, actually.”  He reached over and squeezed Ethan’s shoulder, and then headed over to where the older werewolves were standing.

Liam sighed and closed his eyes, feeling Aidan scoot closer to him. 

“You okay?”  Aidan asked softly.

“Just tired,” Liam replied.  He twisted to look at Aidan and gave him a sleepy smile, “I mean, I’m curious about everything but I’m tired too.”

“Okay,” Aidan said, smiling back.  “You just rest, okay?  If you fall asleep, we’ll wake you up when the food and Aunt Krystal get here.”

Liam nodded, closed his eyes and leaned against Ethan, who hugged him tightly.  Distantly, he heard Scott say, “You’re good at that.”

Whatever Aidan said in response, Liam wasn’t sure.  He was asleep in minutes.

 


	23. The End

Krystal Dunbar was an elegant woman with neatly cut blond curls and hazel eyes.  She walked into Justin’s loft like a woman prepared for a fight.  Scott and Justin had managed to convince everyone but Liam and the twins to clear out for their conversation.  Scott planned to be there only as the Alpha, he was going to let Justin explain things to Liam’s mother.

The first thing that happened was Krystal and Liam’s reunion, a tight hug and a soft conversation that Scott pretended he couldn’t hear by getting himself a soda from Justin’s fridge.  Justin simply stood before his wall of windows, watching calmly.  Aidan and Ethan were sitting in the dining area, watching with expressions of nervousness and hope.

“Mom,” Liam said finally, “look.”  He pointed to the twins.

“Hi,” Aidan said after a moment.

“Don’t you ‘hi’ me,” Krystal said, “where have you been?  I’ve been worried sick.”

Aidan and Ethan exchanged uncomfortable glances, but Justin spoke up, “That’s a very complicated question, Mrs. Dunbar.  One that can be discussed at a later time.”

“And who are you?”  Krystal demanded.

Justin bowed, “I am Justin Stewart of Earth, brother of Zhane of KO-35, son of Jonathon Stewart, Warden of the McCall Pack, called the Hale Hound.”  He gestured towards Scott, “This is our Alpha, Scott McCall.”

“He’s the _True_ Alpha,” Aidan offered quickly.

“A True Alpha,” Krystal said softly, and nodded to Scott.

Scott swallowed, “I’m rather new to this, Mrs. Dunbar.  Both as a werewolf and an Alpha.  Aidan and Ethan have been helping me a lot, as has Justin.”

“Of course,” Krystal said.  “Now, if I am not to hear the story of my nephews’ disappearance, would someone please explain what happened to my son?”

“Scientific experimentation,” Justin said.

Scott had to wonder if something had happened, Justin was usually a lot more tactful about these things.

“I’m sorry?”  Krystal said.

“There’s an alien organization known as Space Patrol Delta, or more commonly as SPD.  They built a facility in the Beacon Hills Preserve, in violation of Earthian laws and galactic ones,  so that they could conduct experiments on Earthians.  We aren’t sure if Liam’s value was because of your association with the werewolf packs, or because of his paternal relations.”

“And what do you know about that?”  Krystal asked.

“I know that a DNA test confirms that Liam and I are half-brothers through our paternal bloodlines,” Justin said.  “I know that the sons of Jonathon Stewart have proven to be unique examples of their kind, and I know that it’s not the first time someone decided that the Stewart bloodlines were valuable for those sorts of experiments.  The difference is that no one expected a fifteen year old lacking in friends and clear ties to the Rangers to have the kind of defenses I had.”

“And you think your father is why Liam was taken?”  Krystal asked.

“Not exactly,” Justin said, “I need to look into the data we reclaimed from the facility as to how and why they acquired Liam.  The short version is this, shortly following the funeral of Allison Argent, the Black Megaforce Ranger went missing while visiting Beacon Hills with his team.  During our search for him, we discovered the facility and confirmed his presence there.  While looking for more information on the facility, a link to SPD was located, bringing this firmly into the purview of the Power Rangers.  We brought in several Rangers and Ranger teams to raid the facility this morning, in the course of which we found Liam.”

“They grabbed me,” Liam said, “They wanted to get some people out of the facility before the Rangers could grab them, and they picked me to be their hostage for safe passage.”

“They were using helicopters,” Justin said, “and Liam fought and tried to escape, however wisely or unwisely that move was.  He fell.”

“But you’re fine,” Krystal began, reaching for Liam.  Then she looked at Scott, turning pale.

“An Alpha’s bite can stabilize a body,” Justin said, “it can grant up to fifteen minutes of time before acceptance or rejection begins.  It gave us time to get Liam to a medical facility to ensure his injuries healed properly.”

“And you’re fine,” Krystal said.

“Yes,” Liam said.

“The facility actually accelerated the change somewhat,” Justin said.  “I don’t know that it would have been able to counteract rejection, but in Liam’s case, he’s at least at the 12 hour post bite marker.”

“I know you said I had to be 18 Mom, but I don’t think they had a choice,” Liam said.

Krystal hugged Liam, “I’m not mad.  I’m just glad you’re okay.”  She looked at Aidan and Ethan, “Do you need a place?”

“Actually,” Justin said, “I’m their legal guardian.”

“I’m their aunt,” Krystal began.

“Ironically, I’m their brother,” Justin countered.  “I’m also a multi-millionaire.  I’m not going to keep Aidan and Ethan from spending time with you, or deny them if they want to stay with you, but I took responsibility for them, and I’m not going to relinquish that as long as they’re Pack.”  He held up his hand, “My father is who he is, and I can’t change that and I won’t excuse him.  I’ve chosen my place and my future for myself.  Part of that is to be the legal guardian of my Pack’s wayward and parentless teenagers.  I won’t take anyone from their established family, but I’m not going to allow the state to take them away from the Pack either.”

Scott stirred, “Justin.”

“Sorry,” Justin said, glancing at Scott.

“It’s okay,” Krystal said.  She looked at the twins, “The offer stands, if you ever want to take advantage of it.”

“Thanks Aunt Krystal,” Aidan said, “but I think we’ll do better with Justin either way.”

Krystal sighed and hugged Liam again.  Scott cleared his throat and when the twins looked at him, he jerked his head towards Krystal and murmured, _“Hug her you two, she needs it.”_

The twins slid off their stools and hurried to join the Dunbars, crowding them in close and practically enfolding them in the center of their embrace.  Krystal laughed and Scott could see her slid an arm over Aidan’s shoulder as she rested her head on Ethan’s shoulder.

Scott sipped his soda and basked in the moment of peace, there weren’t many of these moments in Beacon Hills and he was beginning to learn to appreciate them when they happened.  From the way Justin leaned against the windows with his arms crossed and his eyes mostly closed, Scott thought the other man was doing the same thing.  All in all, it was a good day for the pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus we reach the end of The Only Thing That Stays The Same, but it is not the end of the line for Megaforce and the McHale Pack. Keep an eye out for the forthcoming story "The Dangers Of A Big Red Button", the second story of the Trouble series.


End file.
